Island of Inimical Paradise
by chilly-coke1
Summary: [C21 Death Cannot Escape Us] Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron were originally trying to get to their vacations spot in the Caribbean. However, their portkey mysteriously malfunctioned and they end up on an island full of terrifying action & adventu
1. The Portkey

Island of Inimical Paradise

_One: The Portkey_

It was one of the few days where clouds evanesced and all that could be seen was the sun. Diagon Alley was full of its usually bustling movements, where one could easily get lost within the depths of the crowds. Today was noticeably one of the busiest days of the year, for it was a lovely day in the summer, but also was one of the uncommon days where shops put a few good-quality items on sale. Witches and wizards could be seen in almost every direction haggling with shop owners. A few wizards, who were annoyed by the heavy clogging, used their broomsticks to hover right above the customers. Angry shouts could be heard in some occasions when a broomstick hit the taller wizards. However, other than those few instances, it was a pleasant day where all magical people were just enjoying themselves. Although the Alley was heavily crowded, a wizard and a witch could be easily spotted from afar through the mass of black, brunette, and blonde heads by their vibrant flaming red hair. The two were in argument and simultaneously attempting to penetrate through the crowds.

"Ron, if you didn't forget your pajamas, we wouldn't have to be in this predicament!" Ginny shouted. She really just wanted to find the other two parts of the Golden Trio. The sooner they could find them, the sooner they could leave. She was beginning to get very impatient and her temper was rising each time Ron spoke. Many students in Hogwarts and even a few elders in the wizarding world feared the famous Weasley temper. Ginny had taken enough from Ron by this point and she just couldn't control her temper for much longer. Everything that came from his mouth was either embarrassing or annoying.

Ron, who was stunned by her moodiness, asked, "What do you want me to do without my pajamas, sleep around naked?"

Instantaneously, Ron blushed and Ginny gave him a mortified laugh. She did not want to hear that. It was expected though; after all, it was Ron Weasley. He always spoke before he thought. Ginny was sometimes amazed by his brilliancy when it came to strategy in wars. The two characteristics seemed impossible to fit into one person.

She started to scan the newly constructed Diagon Alley for Harry and Hermione. They were waiting right where Hermione had said she would. She waved her hand in the air to get their attention. Harry appeared to have been looking for them too, but he glanced at Ginny and looked as if to have not noticed her. Hermione, who has always been known for her attention, saw Ginny. After a minute of waving her hand furiously, she was relieved to see she received the attention of Ron and Ginny. Hermione then grabbed Harry's hand and flurried through the crowd to get to Ginny and Ron.

"Ginny, Ron, it's great to see you! Finally. We're almost out of time to catch the portkey!" Harry said, hugging them both. Even though he had just seen them yesterday, he was in a good mood. There was reason to be in a good mood, they were all going on vacation together.

"Well, there's not enough time to hug and welcome each other right now, we have to go all the way to the end of Diagon Alley!" Hermione said in a worried tone. She didn't want to miss the Portkey. She was actually looking forward to a break since the pile of work she had received.

"Hermione, couldn't we just apparate there?" Ginny said.

Hermione actually believed this was a waste of magic, and magic was only to be used for specific purposes. However, since she too was in a jovial mood, she permitted everybody to apparate to the end of Diagon Alley. They all took out their wands and with a pop they apparated to their destination.

At the end of Diagon Alley was what appeared to be a small shop. However, once inside the shop, it looked as if it were a wizard's version of an airport. Not that any wizard would fly on an airplane. This was the Portkey Post for all international trips. Very few wizards could apparate internationally, and many were afraid of splinching themselves. To solve this problem, the Ministry of Magic set up the Portkey Post for all international portkeys. This way, they could keep track of who was going where, in case something happened internationally. Hermione was one of the minds who helped craft this idea after the war. She didn't want another Bertha Jorkins incident to happen. Like all Animagi were asked to register, any wizard who could apparate internationally was asked to register for an international license. The only problem with this system was the chance that some wizard or witch would apparate illegally internationally. That was what Hermione had to deal with after her vacation.

All portkeys could be made with a simple _portus_ spell, but it was still difficult to create one for an international destination. Every country that has it's known magical inhabitants have different Ministries and thus different magical regulations. Sometimes, when a portkey is created for international purposes, the different magical signals would cause a problem and would leave a wizard stranded in the incorrect country. Another problem with the portkey is that it would be difficult for a wizard to create one for areas far from England if they have not mastered in the _portus_ spell. That is why the Portkey Department of the Ministry, with the help of Hermione and other intelligent wizards, created the Portkey Port. After four months of its usage, the Ministry was confident that this was an effective and safe system to use.

"So Ron, did you pack all your stuff?" Hermione asked.

Ron replied, "Of course Hermione, it's not like_ I_ would forget anything. I think only Ginny is capable of such a thing." His eye twinkled when he looked at Ginny.

Ginny playfully punched him in the arm. She opened her bag and made sure all the shrunken trunks were in there. She took both of Harry and Hermione's trunks the day before to keep in her bag.

A witch who used the Sonorus Charm announced, "All Portkeys going internationally to any Wizard City in the Caribbean, Egypt, India, or France for the 10:20 Portkey please go to Station 5. This is the last call for any Portkeys going internationally to any Wizard City in the Caribbean, Egypt, India, or France."

Hermione almost panicked, "That is us we must go to Station 5 now!" She took her wand and grabbed the first hand she could get, which was Ron's, and scampered to Station 5. Ron looked back at Harry and Ginny with a look that begged for help. He didn't want to go anywhere with a neurotic Hermione alone. She always seemed to be a little neurotic.

Harry and Ginny looked at Ron's face and laughed, but they realized that they too had to go, so they quickly followed Ron and Hermione. The crowd was large and soon Harry and Ginny lost the site of Ron and Hermione.

"We can find the station ourselves. It's not as if they would allow The-Boy-Who-Lived to miss a Portkey," Ginny said.

Harry sometimes didn't like the way people mocked his fame. He didn't really enjoy his fame that much, but he also didn't like it when people mocked him. He was about to say something when his thoughts were interrupted by a speaker, "Oh look! It's the famous couple - going off for the holidays?"

The previously pug-faced Pansy Parkinson stepped into their view. She had her usual annoying expression on that clearly was obtained from being a Slytherin. Even though she had grown out of her repulsiveness, she still retained the same expressions. Her arrogance clearly shined through her posture and disgusting sneer. Some people just could never change. Old rivalries would just remain the same.

Ginny glared and retorted, "Parkinson we have a Portkey to catch. Leave us alone you git. I think you and your ugly face should just Crucio itself." It wasn't that great of a retort, but Ginny was in a hurry and she was always better with her wand than her tongue.

"I don't appreciate it when people call my friends gits," drawled the voice of Draco Malfoy. He had approached behind Ginny, and she jumped when he spoke.

"Maybe it just hasn't leaked through your gel-seeped brain that all your friends _are_ gits!" Ginny replied, turning around to face him. He stood just a few inches taller than the last time she remembered seeing him. Other than his height, he looked exactly as he had looked before. He still had that famous smirk, and he still had that posture that made it look as if everyone else was inferior to him. This made Ginny step back once. She never liked this feeling that Malfoy gave and it just wasn't right. He still retained his Slytherin values, and this could be seen through just his appearance.

Now she was really aggravated. First, they were almost late to their portkey because her imbecile of a brother forgot his sleeping suit, and then she had to knock into the arrogant Parkinson and ferret-Malfoy. Why did these types of coincidences have to happen today of all days? She hadn't seen Malfoy for years; the only time she realized he even existed was when his name was mentioned in _The Daily Prophet_ or when her co-workers said something about him. Parkinson, she met occasionally, for her family seemed to always have to come to St. Mungos. They had several 'accidents' these past couple of years after the war. Ginny always suspected that they were just cleaning up any Dark Magic items, which would undoubtedly lead to the 'accidents.'

Harry didn't even know Ginny could defend herself. He was astounded for a moment, but then he said, "Ginny, they aren't worth it! We got a Portkey to catch!" He then grabbed her arm and scampered to the station in almost the same manner that Hermione did. Both of them didn't even dare give one glance to the rude ex-Slytherins.

The Station itself was pretty dark; Ginny could only make out the faces of her companions because they were right next to her. Although the place was just built, they had to use the underground to build some of the areas. Expanding charms did work somewhat, but to keep passengers satisfied, they created a larger area underground. The magical light fixtures weren't of the best quality, and the station itself almost convinced some wizards that they should donate some of their sickles to make the place better.

To Harry's annoyance, the Portkey attendant said that they delayed the Portkey a few minutes for the one and only Harry Potter. After stating that, many of the wizards in the station moved towards Harry to see if it really was their hero. Now Harry was annoyed and it was getting really hot. The good thing about this was that Ron and Hermione were able to find them very easily. Hermione looked a little annoyed for Harry and Ginny coming so late, but she forgave them instantly. Her patience was starting to dissolve too.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all sent Harry an amused expression, which he returned with a rude gesture. They laughed at him and finally the Portkeys lit up.

They all chose a small boot so that they wouldn't have to Portkey with all of the Potter Fans. Surprisingly, they were the only ones to use it. They all felt the familiar whirl of the Portkey. The last time Ginny had used a portkey was in her third year when they were going to the Quidditch World Cup. She shuddered, remembering that was the day when the Dark Mark was seen for the first time in years, and it symbolized the beginning of the upcoming war. Her stomach churned with this thought, but she knew that the war was over and there was nothing to worry about anymore. Life was safe once again. The threat of Lord Voldemort was vanished, and she never had to think about being possessed again.

The whirl of the portkey soon increased and became a little jerky. Ginny thought this must be normal, because she never used an international Portkey. It seemed logical that it would be zooming really fast.

The problem was that the speed of the Portkey just kept increasing. They were now being violently pushed throughout this teleportation and it was very uncomfortable and painful. Soon, it was going so fast that they all believed they would vomit. Ginny could hear screams coming from someone, but quickly realized that it was her voice that was screaming. She had to tell herself that it would all be over soon and this was just normal. A sudden thought came over her and she became scared. Her head was forced down by the speed of the portkey, but with all her strength, she looked over at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They all had an expression of horror, and knowing that both Harry and Hermione had used international portkeys before, maybe there _was_ something wrong. She looked back down and thought that everybody always thought of the worst possible situation first. This could not be true. Everything was fine. There must be some moments of irregularity during portkey teleportations.

All four of them let go of the Portkey and they landed with a thump.


	2. The Island

_Two: The Island_

At least they landed on the sand, one of the less nauseous ones said. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were still lying on the sand. They felt sick from the flight and some of them really wanted to find a good bag to heave in. The one thing that kept them from becoming sick was the bright blue of the sky, which meant they were still on Earth. _That _had to be a good sign.

When they eventually got up, none of them turned an unhealthy green color and decide to relive their contents of breakfast. They all seemed to be in perfect health. Ginny, the first one to get up from her awkward dizzy state quickly performed all her basic mediwitch checks on them. (These were actually muggle methods that were used, because one of her professors from Mediwitch School convinced her that sometimes muggle methods were better. Ginny actually believed that maybe he convinced her this in case of a magical emergency.) Everyone seemed to be fine, except for Ron.

Ron could not get the dizzy feeling out of his head. When he got up he wobbled to the nearest tree and leaned on it. His head hurt badly. Ginny tried to use a charm that would heal Ron, but her wand didn't work. The spell usually shot a thin jet of white light, but her wand didn't react in any way to her magic.

Hermione noticed that she was having difficulty with her wand as well, so she said, "That's normal. If you weren't paying attention to the Portkey attendant, oh wait you came late so you didn't hear at all. She said that after using such a long Portkey, magic would not work for a few minutes to up to an hour. I think the reason for this is because of the way a Portkey is made…"

"Hermione I get it, I don't think I need any further explanation," Ginny said feeling that maybe she would get nauseous from one of Hermione's technical speeches. Although Ginny loved her a lot as a friend, Hermione does get on the annoying side when she becomes overly-enthused by her magical abilities and knowledge.

During this time, Harry had walked a little further on the beach and looked around the island. He was looking for their hotel. There was no such hotel that was given by the brochure. His gaze went far ahead and the only thing that his line of sight saw was beach, trees, and the ocean.

He came back and soon said, "I think the Portkey might have sent us to the wrong area of the island. I see no hotel of ours; in fact I don't see a wizard city. I haven't even seen any other human wizard or muggle!"

Ginny and Hermione gave Harry a worried look. They have never been to a Caribbean island and have never thought that a Portkey would send them to the wrong area. It was, after all, taken care by the Ministry. Then again, the Ministry wasn't always very accurate with the things they took care of. Trusting Hermione was another thing, maybe she just was too busy to find out much about their specific portkey. They did just pick some random portkey to travel with. "Do you guys have anything to eat? I didn't eat anything for breakfast."

"Oh Ron, I brought almost a whole kitchen worth of food for you, but it is all shrunken in boxes. And that was just for the trip TO the portkey," Ginny said searching through her bag. She found a bag of sandwiches that their Mum had packed for a surprise.

"Oh look! Mum made us some Corned Beef sandwiches. Do you want some?"

Ron groaned. He hated Corned Beef sandwiches, but he reluctantly took it. His stomach was far too grumbly. After eating the food, he felt much better and he decided to look around the island with the others. He looked at the trees, then at his feet, then toward the ocean. He then spoke.

"How can we not use magic for an hour? This is just terrible!" Ron said. He couldn't imagine anybody like Hermione or Harry living without magic. It was still very fascinating how muggles could live everyday without using even an ounce of magic. He should have paid more attention during his Muggle Studies classes. Maybe then he would have known more about the fascinating lives of muggles. It did amaze his father, and now he was starting to understand why. Maybe he should have paid attention to what his father said too. Logically, it would seem, after the Ministry was able to get a hold of their nation again, that they would improve muggle-wizard relations. He never had to live without magic and even though it had only been a few minutes, he was starting to comprehend this enthrallment.

After half of an hour, they were not able to find a single person on the island. However, Hermione said that the island was large and she believed there was an area that was uninhabited. This seemed to be the exact location of it. So far, the island looked very nice and inviting. It felt like the right spot to vacation. There was much green vegetation around the island and the water was such a lovely color of blue. Everything looked very warm and inviting, exactly the way the four of them fantasized. This looked exactly what a break from work would be imagined. Being compliments of the Ministry, they were relieved by how much the government wanted to spend on them. Even though they would never say it, it was in the back of their minds that they all knew it was well deserved.

Harry climbed a tree and brought down some unusual looking fruits for the rest of the people. Ginny was the one who was brave enough to try it first. Everyone watched her as she hesitantly took a bite out of it. When she looked up she smiled and said it tasted sweet and pink.

"How does anything taste pink?" Harry asked amazed. He believed that never in his life would he be able to understand women, but asking questions would be fine.

"It does, try it!" she said, taking another bite out of it. It was nice and juicy; she quickly wiped away a trickle of juice that seeped down the corner of her mouth. Ginny enjoyed this fruit a little too much and grinned when she took another bite out of it. It was the kind of grin that stated that 'this place is just perfect'.

Ron, who was a little angry that he could have eaten this instead of the corned beef sandwich, didn't eat it. He ate too many sandwiches and did not dare try that fruit in case he got poisoned. It did look appetizing though. He looked at his stomach and wondered how long it would be until he would actually take a bite out of it. From the looks that his sister was giving it, it appeared to be really good fruit. It looked as if he would become hungry again soon.

Hermione had inspected the fruit thoroughly and finally came to the conclusion that it did not have any poisonous substances in it. She took a bite and loved it. "This is really good! It makes you believe you're on an island in paradise!"

"The brochure did say that this is an island in paradise," Harry said and he finally took a bite out of his. "I don't see how you can call this taste pink. It doesn't make sense." He gave a confused look, which was one of the images that many fan girls adored. Even though the fruit itself was pink, it was always the type of thing that Harry would be confused over. Everything almost always had to be either black or white for him. Pink never fit into any of the categories of life.

Ginny replied, "Well it does taste pink! And I like it. What do you think this fruit is called?" She wondered if this was something she could get at one of the international wizarding food markets. Never before had she had fruit like this before. To her, it was a delicacy that was to be savored. She wasn't going to be on this island for long, and if she could take one thing back with her, she already found out what it was.

"The Palatable Pink Pesky Produce," Ron said simply.

Ginny glared at him, "I was asking Hermione, and that doesn't make sense. Why is it pesky?"

He thought about it for a bit and then came with what he thought was a smart reply, "Because Ginny, you're pesky!" He laughed at his own impressive response.

"Right Ron, that was a great answer," Harry rolled his eyes and then everybody joined in with the laughter.

"I am not familiar with this fruit. It isn't as if I studied fruits in school," Hermione said.

"I'm shocked, 'Mione! I expected you to read about this island front and back. I would think you would know absolutely everything about this!" Ginny said feigning shock.

Hermione blushed for a moment and replied, "Well, you know…work…gets in the way at times."

After this, a comfortable moment of silence fell upon the group. They all just gazed around the island. The beauty of it was so inviting, it seemed to be the perfect place to relax. They thought about their many previous adventures and felt this was what they deserved. A nice break on such a beautiful island was what all of them merited. Eventually, they all sat down on the sand and listened to the peaceful waves crash onto the island over and over again. It was just the thing to relax with.

"We should continue searching the island," Harry finally said. He got up from his sitting position and wiped the sand from his pants. It was crazy to think that so many years ago, he was stuck with the Dursleys, who never took him anywhere outside of London. Then, at the age of eleven the most wonderful thing in the world had happened; he discovered that he was a wizard. From then on, he encountered adventures he never would have dreamt before. If the Dursleys knew where he currently was, they would give him the worst possible death glares. He remembered they had once talked about going to the Caribbean, but as the war progressed, muggle transportation declined and it was almost impossible for anyone in England to fly internationally. The war affected the muggles terribly and it would probably be remembered as one of the worst mysterious events that have ever occurred in the entire history of the world. The war would probably make them all forget the fact that their used to be witch hunts, they would now be more attentive to the mysterious deaths of thousands throughout Europe.

"Hasn't it been over an hour now?" Ron asked. This brought Harry out of his daze and he smiled back.

"Yeah, it should have been. I'll check my wand," Hermione said. She took out her wand, pointed it to a nearby tree and said, "Flagrate!"

When nothing happened she tried again. After her fourth attempt, she shrugged and said, "Maybe it's longer than an hour. People do tend to round."

"That can't be right though. That is just strange," Harry said, starting to feel a little worried. The portkey did seem a little odd. He had never experienced such turbulence before. In fact, he never felt any turbulence before. However, he put this thought in the back of his mind. He knew now that he shouldn't just jump to conclusions. Jumping to conclusions always led to mistakes. Like the many times he accused Snape of betraying Dumbledore. That almost always, maybe _even_ always, led to terrible events that Harry would rather not remember.

"I just thought of something!" Ron said.

"What?" The other three asked in unison.

"The brochure…it has a map on it. On the map, it has an arrow that will direct you to the right direction. We could have used that! Does anyone have it?"

"I think I do, it's right in my bag!" Ginny said excitedly. She once again opened her bag and looked through its contents.

"What do you not have in that bag?" Harry joked.

She took it out and hurriedly opened it. The brochure was large and had many moving pictures of happy wizards and witches. The hotel was a grand resort with many features and activities to participate in. Harry and Ron were looking forward to the Quidditch Pitch. There, you could compete with stone shaped wizards that had the skills of Oliver Wood and other great Quidditch players. Ginny and Hermione were just looking forward to the relaxation part of the vacation. She opened it eagerly and cautiously, so as not to bend the magical pictures. When she glanced up at them, her bright expression turned to a look of horror.

"What's wrong?" Ron and Hermione said in unison.

"Well, the thing is I found the map and the arrow is magically pointing to the hotel…"

"And?" Harry asked.

"The arrow is pointing towards the ocean," she said quietly and then showed the map to everybody.


	3. We're Lost?

_Three: We're Lost?_

"What did you say Ginny?" Hermione said, refusing to look at the map, but instead staring into the eyes of Ginny. She just had to be lying, Ginny always loved to play jokes on them. The only problem with that idea was that _wasn't_ Ginny, that was Fred and George.

"Look at the map," Ginny said anxiously.

The magical yellow arrow was surely enough pointing towards the ocean. Everyone was dumbfounded. How could a Portkey send them to the wrong island? How could a Portkey that was inspected by a Ministry official, hopefully, send them to the wrong island? Did that mean they were lost on some unknown island? This couldn't be true.

"Do you think You-Know-Who was involved?" Ron asked a little scared. This was the expected answer to come from Ron. First, he would say it would be Voldemort, then he would blame it on someone like Malfoy. Everyone rolled their eyes as Ron jumped to conclusions, as usual. They then looked at each other to see who would be the lucky one that would have to explain this to Ron. Ron never took simple things so easily, yet somehow he was always a great strategist.

"First of all, Harry defeated Voldemort a year ago. Second, you _helped_ him. Third, it's Voldemort! Don't be a coward and say You-Know-Who!" Ginny yelled. The other two were glad they didn't have to explain, for then they would be bombarded with questions. Before Ron could attack Ginny with questions, Harry decided to assist Ginny.

"She's right Ron, it can't be Voldemort. He's dead and we are sure of it. Even Dumbledore for sure believes that Voldemort is gone," Harry sai,d brushing away that idea. Ron soon wiped his worried expression away and became relieved.

"Could the problem be the map itself? The lady did say that magic would temporarily be suspended. Maybe this is the direction it was pointing to before we touched the portkey," Hermione suggested.

"That could be true but it's been well over an hour," Ginny said sadly. This was just unfair. She was going to deny the fact that they were lost until all of them were one hundred percent sure of it. It just wasn't fair that her life had to end up this way. It wasn't fair that any of the four people lost on this island had to lose their vacation like this. She was going to deny it. Denial was her best plan at the moment.

"Here, let me take this," Ron interjected. He took the map out of Ginny's hand and ran as far as possible to the left. Ron didn't return until minutes later. He had to make sure that he was at the furthest left point of the island. If that weren't enough, he would have been crazy enough to swim as far out in the water as he could. He then came back and said, "The arrow moved towards its original point. However, it barely moved so that could mean the resort is far away from here."

"Can portkeys malfunction?" Harry asked dejectedly. Hopefully he'd get the opposite answer of what he actually thought.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it wasn't taken care of properly," Hermione reasoned. Now her hopes of being on the right island were starting to slowly vanish. Optimism did not exist among the four of them. They all had come to the island wanting a break from their workload at home. They all had expected this trip to go perfectly. The Ministry ad handled everything and they were all to enjoy this together. This was not supposed to happen.

"Hey, what if the resort is actually in the ocean? The picture does show it around the ocean. Maybe it will magically appear," Ron said trying to sound a little positive.

"That wouldn't make sense though. We could try it though," Ginny said.

They all went in the water until they were well off in the shallow water. Hermione and Ginny used different revealing spells toward the direction of the hotel. At the same time, Harry used spells under the water in the same direction. Ron meanwhile was just shouting at the ocean to show the hotel. Anyone could clearly hear him trying to say different opening spells he had heard when he was in Muggle Studies class. Since he never focused well in that class, the spells he had learned from muggle books were completely incorrect. Harry and Hermione glanced at one another and snickered at Ron's futile attempts. He was always very amusing.

"Did you see that? Only a few of my spells work, most of them don't. Also, some of them work but the spell malfunctions. It's as if I said another spell," Hermione paused and saw the same reaction from Ginny's wand. Then she added as if to prove her point, "See? Look, if I do this simple Revealing spell, I get a different effect. It's just blasting water."

This caused three of them to return to shore. Their spirits were even lower when they waded back to shore. They were still denying it, but knew that what they feared was true. When they finally came back out of the water, they grouped again. Hermione asked if any of the others' wands were working. Nobody's wand was functioning well. This was really odd. Ron was the last to come to shore for he hadn't realized everybody had returned. When he realized that his attempts were not working, he turned around and saw in the distance Harry, Ginny, and Hermione, watching him with dejected spirits. He waded back and then told them his newest belief.

"What if someone other than Voldemort knew we were going to take the portkey and sent us here?" Ron asked what they expected him to.

"Oh, I think I know who has done this! Draco Malfoy. He has always been the evil conniving rat," Harry said sarcastically.

Ron didn't catch this hint of sarcasm and his eyes showed his agreement, "Yeah, that brute has always been up to something. He hates you Harry, us Weasleys, and of course Hermione, the one muggle-blooded witch who is twenty times more superior than him."

Harry could not believe that Ron still would do his same old routine. When he was in Hogwarts, he usually believed Ron, but now he hadn't been in contact with Malfoy for over a year. It was strange to see how some aspects of their lives had definitely changed, but others seemed to have a permanent fixture in their minds. Life surprised everybody, even during the simpler moments.

"That can't be true because how would they know we took the boot portkey? We could've taken any of those portkeys and yet we see no one else on this island!" Harry said to expel his last comment.

Hermione and Ginny were just too tired and dejected to converse in the previous conversation. They just watched with delight. "According to my logic, this shouldn't be happening. The wands should be working correctly and should not be causing problems," Hermione sighed in frustration. According to everybody else's logic, they knew this a while back, too. Silently in their minds, the other three sighed in frustration.

"Well, do you think you know what the problem is?"

"It could be this island. This is obviously the wrong island, and I think I might know a reason that the Portkey malfunctioned. We went all the way across the ocean and the magic of this island forced the portkey to leave us here," Hermione finally said. It confirmed to everyone, inside, that they were indeed lost. However, they were all going to wait until the other two would believe Hermione out loud. Hermione knew this from her work with the Portkey Department. However, she knew somewhere that the chances for this to happen with the trained wizards that were used at the Portkey Port were pretty slim.

"That doesn't make sense!" someone said.

"You can't argue with her though, she is a genius!" another said.

"How are we going to get off this island?" Ginny finally asked. Although this island was beautiful, they were sure that this couldn't be where their permanent residence would reside. At the same time, Ginny's An-Adventure-Is-Coming-Up senses were tingling.

"Well we can't apparate because we don't know where we are. If we tried to apparate, we could end up in the middle of the ocean. The same effect would occur if we used a _Portus_ spell. We don't know what direction we are in or anything." Hermione had understood the complete in and out effects of apparating and using a Portus spell when she decided to work on the Portkey Port project. She felt bad for those wizards who volunteered for experiments. Although the pay was large, splinching was never fun.

"Just look at the sun!" Harry said.

"Oh right! I forgot about that," Hermione looked around. It was now almost noon, but the sun seemed to still be able to tell her directions. She pointed to the left and said, "That is north, forward is east, the hotel is somewhere in the west, and south is on the right."

"So that means we are somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?" Harry asked a little horrified.

"That could be where we are," Hermione said.

"If this island has some magic on it, then couldn't that mean there are wizards here?" Ginny asked

"Yeah, but that could also mean there are magical beasts that Hagrid would love, if he came on this vacation," Ron said.

"So does that mean we are going to go look for the unknown? What if Ron's right?" Hermione asked Harry. It was usually his decision that was followed.

"I think if we are going to have to stay here, we are first going to have to set up a camp. Who knows how long we'll be here, right? In the movies, it's always nightfall when the creatures attack, so this will give us plenty of time," said Harry. Even though he rarely saw movies because of the Dursleys, he could always listen to them inside his cupboard or when he was outside in the backyard, lying in the flowers.

"What are movies? Anyway, in the meantime, we can try to figure out which spells work on each of our wands. It's probably different for every person because we all have different wands," Ginny said.

"I guess that settles the idea that we are lost!" Hermione said. Finally everyone agreed and they all shook their heads sadly.

"What are we going to do for food? And bathroom?" Ginny asked.

"First you could try to see if you can un-shrink the food and trunks. Then, when we run out of that food, there is always the Palatable Pink Pesky Produce and fish in the ocean. For the bathroom…umm," Ron ended.

"We could use that area behind those tall trees. Someone could dig a large hole and use a box for a seat or something. For the smell…" Harry continued.

"Well look, there are a bunch of flowers around that area. We could also find out who can use cleaning charms. Hopefully, cleaning charms are allowed on this island!" Hermione finished.

"I guess that settles that nasty business. I guess I will start un-shrinking this. Does anyone know how to make a tent?"

"If you un-shrink my trunk there is a book called _The Wizard's Survival Guide To Any Place In The World!_ I set the book to the Caribbean, but I think you can set it to being lost."

"This is just great! We were supposed to be on a vacation and we get lost on an island," Ron groaned and the others silently agreed with him. But, with their companionship and logic they all settled to work. They all hoped that maybe their vacation on this island wouldn't be terrible, for the island _was_ beautiful. They also hoped that there weren't any creatures on this island. They all wanted a break from their work, and were afraid of what they would encounter as the days go by. If the days went by that is, hopefully somebody, somewhere was searching for them.


	4. Are We Alone?

_Four: Are We Alone? _

Ginny was able to un-shrink three out of four of the trunks. Only her trunk refused to be restored to its original size. It was crazy to believe that her wand was the one that refused to operate on her trunk. Hermione was able to find her book and set it to 'lost mode'. The book gave some great tips on how to survive on an island. It also gave very easy step-by-step instructions on how to construct a good magical tent that would be able to keep out most magical and non-magical creatures. Ron's wand was the only one that allowed them to enlarge the tent and create beds from stones.

"Would you look at that? Transfiguration class actually came in handy!" Ron said after a long day of work. He stepped back to admire his work.

"Of course it would come in handy! Many wizards use transfiguration on a daily basis," Hermione said, which resulted in the rolling of Ron's eyes. Hermione was always trying to get them to use their magic whenever possible. At the same time, she wouldn't allow them to use it at other times when it was a 'waste'. That witch never made any sense. She was, after all, a woman, and women had never made any sense. He recalled his fourth-year Yule Ball with Harry. Things still hadn't changed.

There were two tents, each which had two poorly constructed rooms. Ron wasn't very good at enlarging the tent so it looked as if it would collapse. However, the book stated that no matter how the tent looked, the only way to make it collapse was for Ron to say 'Collapse'. Hermione took that also as some way for them to escape in case they got into trouble. The tent looked as if it wouldn't be harmed by almost anything. Magic seemed to be circumventing all around the tent.

After a long day of work, everybody was exhausted. Ginny had used so many spells to enlarge the trunks and food items that she was very drained. Hermione had read the book three times and instructed everybody while they were doing their jobs. She also made sure she noted the most important pages: the ones that would keep them out of trouble, the ones that would keep them safe, and the ones that might help them escape off the island. Ron had obviously spent the whole day laboring over the tents. Harry was given the worst assignment; he had to create the toilet. Digging a hole without magic, and without a shovel wasn't as easy as he thought it would have been. Using the resources he had, which were basically his hands and some big sticks, made him the most tired of all of them.

They all rested on their almost comfortable beds and quickly went to sleep. It had been an exhausting day. Tomorrow, maybe they would be able to enjoy or escape the island. Whatever destiny chose for them they would follow it. Ginny was the first to wake up in the morning. Being thirsty, she went to her bag and took out a bottle of water. She then realized that they were going to have to find a new source of water, as there was only one bottle left.

Ginny sorted through Hermione's trunk and found the resourceful book. She looked through it for a way to purify water. It showed her a good spell, but it didn't work well with Ocean Water. She was going to have to look for a stream. She didn't mind exploring. When she was young, she used to explore around the Burrow all the time. There, she would find interesting creatures that were not just garden gnomes. If she were lucky enough, she might catch sight of a fairy. The only difference between the two places were the facts that all her brothers had previously explored the place and her parents always made sure it was pretty safe. This place was never explored before and who knew what would be found, deep inside the jungle. Ginny took out a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote a note explaining that she was going to look for a stream. She then asked that they all find a way to communicate to the outside world.

Ginny wandered throughout the forest. She was wearing the clothes she borrowed from Hermione, because hers were too small to wear. In fact she probably couldn't even see them with a muggle microscope. Hermione was a little taller than her so the robes she wore were a little long, but she didn't mind.

She meandered through the forest looking for any signs of water. Every few moments or so, she would pause and listen for a stream. After almost half an hour, she swore she heard the sound of water. It was to her right so she headed that way, and she found it! It was a very small stream but it looked like it was just the right size for the spell. Looking back towards the area the campsite was, she noticed that this place wasn't as far as she thought. Since she was just wandering through the forest, she had made many turns and circles. The distance from the stream to the campsite looked as if it were only a ten-minute walk.

The purifying spell didn't seem to work on the first few attempts. After the seventh attempt, the water was purified, and as the book said, it would glow a light pink color. There was a think line of pink on the area that she cast the spell. Any water that passed the line was purified. The problem she soon encountered was the fact she brought no bottles of water. Ginny was very mad at herself, how could she forget bottles of water? She knew at this moment she resembled her brother, Ron. Ron would be the type to forget to bring necessary items. Like he forgot his pajamas. She shook her head at the lack of her responsibility. Being a healer, she had to be very responsible and this just demonstrated the lack of it.

She paused to turn back when she heard a twig snap. Ginny looked down at her feet and saw no twigs. Behind her there was a sound of movement. She quickly took out her wand and in a frightened manner said, "Who's there?"

The movement had suddenly stopped. She asked again, and when no one replied she stepped backwards. The sound started once again, and stopped abruptly. Ginny's heart was pounding and she was terrified. Her Gryffindor mind wanted to encounter the human or creature, but her heart asked her to run. She stepped back again and the movement came and stopped again suddenly.

"This is not funny, I am scared. Maybe you don't speak my language? Please, I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me."

There was no reply. She stayed there in fear for a few minutes. Then she stepped forward. The moment she stepped forward she was completely sure that she heard some whispering. At that second Ginny turned around and ran for her life in the direction she knew where the campsite was. She knew that by running this fast she would be getting many cuts and scrapes from branches, and hoped she wouldn't bump into anything poisonous. Ginny knew that being on an unknown island would lead to some severe medical damages, but at the moment, most of her mind was consumed with the idea of fleeing. It was strange what kind of thoughts one had when in fear.

When she arrived at the beach, she saw that her direction was a little off and the tents were far to the right. She ran to the first tent and hugged the first person she found.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Harry asked, who was almost dying by the embrace that Ginny was giving him. He pushed her away as gently as possible. Hhe didn't want her to think that he wasn't supporting her…he just couldn't breathe.

Ginny didn't seem to notice what Harry was doing as she was too preoccupied with the idea of what was in the jungle. She was breathing very quickly and after a few moments panted, "Went…look for water…found it…purifying spell…sound…whispering…scared…ran!"

Ron soon appeared in the doorway and looked at his little sister with a worried look, "What happened, Harry?"

"I'm not sure, but she did leave a note saying she went to look for water. Did you find something?" Harry asked slowly. He knew there were probably creatures or something out on the island. After all, where would all the magic come from? He hoped, whatever this thing was, wasn't anything that was against them. With their luck, it most likely was some ferocious beast that Hagrid would love to keep as a pet. He did not want to deal with dragons again. Judging by the heat on this island, there didn't seem to be any dragons. Harry quickly shook out of his thoughts. He was losing his focus. There was something really wrong with the island. Whenever someone was scared, he usually paid his utmost attention. First the rambling, then the attention, was he going to go mad? He felt as if in a few days Ron and Hermione would be after him with a net.

Ginny's breathing was not as fast as it was before and she said, "I went to look for water….and I found a stream…I purified it…but had no bottles of water…I went to go back to the camp site…and well, I heard movement…too scared to move…but I ran for it…when it started whispering."

"Was it a human's voice?"

"Yes I think so, but it just scared me!" she said in the most serious tone someone like her could say. She wasn't going to allow her brother to laugh at her for being scared at something stupid, for this…this was serious. There was something out there and she didn't know whether or not it was after her.

Hermione came into the boys' tent to see if everybody was awake. She asked about Ginny and Harry told her story.

"That means we aren't alone on this island!" Hermione said stating the obvious.

"Do you think someone from the Portkey Port is here?"

"No, I don't think so. I asked many times 'Who's there' and no one replied. It doesn't seem this person or whatever it is knows English," Ginny said.

"So we aren't alone. What should we do about it?" Hermione asked.

"I guess we could find them. Me and Ron could go look for the person," Harry said.

"Ron and I," Hermione corrected.

"You want to come too? I don't think we should leave Ginny alone right now," Harry said. Hermione just rolled her eyes. He turned around to get back inside the tent to grab his wand. When he came back, he threw Ron's wand at his friend. Ron caught it and with a determined expression, they both looked at Hermione.

"You two just go. And while you're at it, get some water. Ginny can explain where it is and how the purifying spell works," she said.

"We only have one bottle! How are we going to get any water?"

"Oh in case anyone wanted to see how much Firewhiskey they could take, I kind of brought an endless jug. It's empty so we can use that," Ron said with a lazy shrug.

"I can't believe you Ron, I just can't believe you," Hermione said sighing. She then turned around and brought Ginny inside the tent. Together, they could have a long awaited chat. Their plan was to leave Ron and Harry to do their activities at the resort and together they would have a chat. It had been a very long time since the two of them just chatted alone. They each had to have time to catch up on each other lives and events. This looked as if it was the perfect time to do what they had originally planned. However, it looked as if just catching up on each other lives wasn't the only thing on their agenda.


	5. Darn We Aren't Alone

_Five: Darn We Aren't Alone _

Harry and Ron returned over an hour later finding nothing. They had found the stream and filled the endless jug that could hold as much water as they thought would supply them for a week. This included water for showering, for they thought it would be uncomfortable for the girls to shower in the ocean. It seemed as if they did have some common sense somewhere. Though at their age it was necessary, for an imbecile probably couldn't have defeated the Dark Lord. Nor would almost every witch on the entire planet idolize the imbecile. And a second simpleton wouldn't be able to create the strategy, along with the help of Albus Dumbledore, to help the first imbecile defeat Lord Voldemort. Thus, common sense may not have been demonstrated throughout their Hogwarts careers, but it was still somewhere deep inside depths of their minds.

During the time that Harry and Ron were away, Ginny and Hermione had a long discussion on what they were to do about being lost. They were able to transfigure sand into misshapen glass and rocks for eating utensils. It seemed they also had a sixth sense, for they built a shower booth in their own tent, but not in the boys'. They didn't feel like showering in the ocean, especially when there were people of the opposite sex, who were very close friends and somewhat brothers to them. After being bored with so much chat, they talked about things they would have enjoyed to talk about if they were actually on their real vacation.

Right before Harry and Ron had returned on their trip, they started a conversation of the Witch Weekly's Top Ten List of the Most Eligible Bachelors. Even though Hermione never really was interested in such lists, it was something to talk about in her girlish moments. She always was focused on her tasks at work and tasks of her friends work that she never had time to relax. So for one of the rare moments in life she decided to enjoy a discussion on the Witch Weekly's Top Ten List.

"Isn't it great that both Harry and Ron made the list?" Hermione said happily. It _was_ great that her two best friends made the list, although she wasn't happy about the idea of thousands of girls screaming their names. She hated it when she would step out of her home or office with one of them and there would be a crowd of younger teen-witches asking for an autograph or more.

"Why my brother? I don't understand. He is an idiot! Why would any witch fall for him? He is too tall, lanky, and looks like a simpleton."

"Well he does have the red hair, which is a feature that stands out. He is tall and has the body structure of…" Hermione was blushing and stopped immediately after Ginny started giving gagging noises.

"We both have to agree on Harry though. He is charming and after all he did save the wizarding world…who knows how many times," Ginny paused while Hermione nodded in agreement. "Well who else made the list? And how do you know all this? I would expect you to be too attentive to work to even realize that this list was made. How do you even know that this magazine exists?" Ginny said in an increasingly mocking tone. Hermione decided to ignore all but the first question.

"Oliver Wood – he always makes it. He is good looking, but it looks like Lavender Brown is going to announce her engagement to him any time soon." Ginny made a sigh when she heard Hermione say his name.

"There's Blaise Zabini. I don't like him though, his dark hair and uncharacteristic blue eyes kind of scare me. Anthony Goldstein, Roger Davies, Terry Boot, Oliver Wood, Adrian Pucey, Lee Jordan, and last and most least Draco Malfoy." Hermione ended with a taste of disgust.

"Draco Malfoy? You never liked him? After I ended my relationship with Dean Thomas in my fifth year, I had a major crush on him," Ginny said with a deep sigh.

"Malfoy? Our worst enemy? Why him?" Hermione asked shocked. How could Ginny possibly look at Malfoy with any eyes of affection? All Hermione saw was disgust and loathe for the ferret.

"Come on…the gray eyes, the silver-blonde hair, the face that looked like it was carved by angels…"

"Angels? Too bad he is a complete devil!" she said viciously.

"I guess I just was one of those girls that swooned over the bad-boy of the school," Ginny said, sighing.

"Well at least that sentence was used in the past tense. I can't believe you liked Malfoy! Of all people, even Adrian Pucey looked far more handsome in his third year. Remember how terrible he looked?" Hermione said and then covered her mouth in shock. She never really thought about the 'bad features' of someone. She always thought she looked at their personality. The good thing was that Ginny didn't seem to notice this and continued her topic about Malfoy.

"It's not as if anything could have ever happened. We were sworn enemies, he hated my guts, and his father once tried to kill me. I did have a great laugh during my fourth year with the whole bat bogey hex incident. However, it was at the end of my fifth year when he told Dumbledore that he did not want to become a Death Eater, and that might have increased my attraction to him."

"It was also that time of the year where it was well-known that Harry would be able to overcome the Dark Lord by the end of his seventh year. He just wanted to be on the winning side! Why else do you think he was never invited to a meeting of the Order?"

"Well he wasn't the only person not invited to the Order. Many people from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and even Gryffindor didn't even know about the Order! I liked him and that's all I can…"

"Liked who, Ginny?" Ron came in and asked suspiciously. This was the exact moment that Ron and Harry had arrived to interrupt and terminate their so-called 'girlish conversation.'

"Nobody," Ginny said quickly. With six older brothers she always had the quick tongue to state a good lie.

"I have to know who you liked so I can get the rest of the Weasleys and we can have a discussion with him. Unless of course it's Harry. I approve of him," Ron said with a hopeful twinkle in his eye.

"Right, how are you going to do that when we are the only people on this island? Well the only people that probably can speak English," Ginny said completely ignoring the last part of his statement.

"That's not the point! Tell me, who do you like?"

"Ron just bugger off. Well, we checked the stream and brought the jug, but found no one," Harry said and then told them how much water they had.

Everybody was glad that Ginny and Hermione had spent so much time working on the shower. Harry was a little upset that they didn't build him one; he didn't want any embarrassing scenes to happen. The rest assured him that that wouldn't happen, and that problem was resolved. However, when he turned around, an evil grin came upon the three. If he hadn't mentioned it, he was sure that nothing would happen, but now with two Weasleys stuck on the same island, something was bound to happen.

They all decided that since they were lost, they could at least enjoy the weather outside and go out exploring. Even though they wanted to get off the island, they also wanted to enjoy it as much as possible too. They believed after they are found, they won't be able to enjoy another vacation for a long time, as the Ministry might decide that Portkey travel would be too dangerous for them. Hermione and Ron went out to explore the rest of the island, while Harry and Ginny decided to go get some fruit. They were really addicted to the Palatable Pink Pesky Produce, and wanted to see if there were any other kinds of interesting fruits on the island.

Ginny was able to find some strange purple fruit with black spots circumventing it. It looked like an oversized discolored apple. Harry had read the Survival Guide book, and had found a simple spell that would check if a certain fruit or vegetable was edible or not. The spell worked using Harry's wand, if pointed in the right direction. The fruit Ginny found was edible and Harry was the first to be brave enough to take a bite out of it.

"Ugh!" Harry made a face. "It's bitter!" he said, giving the fruit to Ginny.

Ginny took a bite, but found the taste to be interesting, "Oh, you know what? This tastes really familiar. I think it's an ingredient to a popular drink. Maybe we could experiment with this fruit and find out what drink I am talking about. I don't mind it, but then again, I am a Weasley and love to eat almost anything."

"Maybe later. How are we going to collect all this fruit?"

"That's easy! I brought my bag and some extra clothes," she said and then with a little whisper and a large grin she added, "Make sure you don't tell Ron I was snooping through his trunk. We could just tie our clothes and make a bag out of that. My bag obviously won't fit any of the fruit. Plus, I don't want to get it dirty."

Harry agreed and went to work making a bag out of extra clothes. It was easy enough, and with a few bad spells, they were able to make a strange looking bag out of clothes. They carried the bag outside of the tents and set it down.

"Well look at all the fruit we got, this could last us a whole…a whole meal for Ron! Harry, I'm sorry to say this, but you eat a lot, too."

Harry mocked glared at her, and continued unpacking the fruit. The day before, Ron had time to make a basket for who knows what. It might have been created for laundry purposes, but knowing Ron and his terrible transfiguration skills it could have just been some misshapen bed. They used this for the fruit, for it was just the right size for the quantity of fruit that they had brought from the island. The two of them idly chatted about life in general and about ways to contact the outside world, for they had forgotten to discuss this before. However, both of them froze when they heard a rustling in the trees right behind them. They immediately took out both their wands and directed it towards the trees. If it were Ron and Hermione they would at least announce that they were coming. Unless it was some kind of prank they were playing, but it didn't seem likely.

Pointing their wands steadily and with the greatest amount of attention, they stared straight at the direction of the sound. If it were some island creature, they would be prepared to use their best hexes, and if it is just some island native, they already memorized their lines of apologies (as being in a war does bring some friendly fire).

"Lower your wand, Potter," drawled a faint voice.

The voice that had just spoken to them was very familiar and for a moment, they felt that their hearts had suddenly stopped. Draco Malfoy brushed past the trees and stepped out from the bushes. Both Ginny and Harry dropped their jaws in astonishment. It was either because Draco Malfoy was actually on the island they were lost on, or because Draco Malfoy wasn't as immaculately clean as he usually was. It was just amazing.


	6. One Found, One Lost

_Six: One Found One Lost_

"I know I have such great looks, but gawking like that can be irritating after a while," Draco Malfoy said in his usual, arrogant tone.

That was an ironic statement; the current state Malfoy was in wasn't anything a wizard would gawk admiringly at. His once rich and expensive robes were torn and shredded at the bottom. His face consisted of many scars and a deep gash was seen right above his wrist. The shirt that Malfoy wore under his robe had seen better days, and had red stains all over it. Though he himself looked unstable he was currently holding a wand that looked perfectly usable.

Ginny was shocked completely. How could he have been here? Was he the one who sent them here? Could Ron for once be right with his crazy accusations? That didn't make sense looking at his current state. She looked over at Harry who seemed to be having the same thoughts. They continued gawking at him for what seemed like minutes, until Hermione and Ron had come running towards them.

From afar they had seen another figure of the party they thought should have only consisted of two. Since there seemed to be nothing going on between the three, Hermione assumed that they had found the person Ginny had fled from. She told Ron, who became excited. He believed that whoever it was would help them get off the island. If it was a native, maybe there was some sort of specific system that would send them back to London, or at least to the hotel they originally wished to go to.

He started running towards the figure, completely forgetting Hermione for a moment. When he did remember her, he turned around to wait for her, but saw that she was zoomed right past him. Getting a little frustrated, he decided to have a race with Hermione and he ran as fast as he could.

He lost, but blamed it on the fact that Hermione got a head start.

When they arrived they were panting and froze when they looked upon the face of their mortal enemy. Draco Malfoy was on the island.

Ron raised his arm in a position that looked as if he were about to trounce Malfoy. He was angry. "Malfoy, I can't believe you sent us to this island! Get us off of here!"

Instead of replying, Draco Malfoy raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ron for less than a moment. Ron was obviously still not worthy of the attention of the last Malfoy.

"Look at the state of his robes. If he really was out to get us, would he be in such a position? That gash on his wrist looks pretty bad, what if poison was able to get into his blood stream? It's four against one here, unless you are planning to ambush us," Ginny said. Ron lowered his arm and just decided to glare at him instead.

"No Weaselette, I'm here because of that bloody portkey," Malfoy said while brushing the dirt off his shoulder. He had to look clean although it was obvious that no one would think that. It was apparent from his robes that he was injured and from the paleness of his skin (which seemed like an impossible shade) they could all tell he was very weak. Why did he have to find them? He almost wished he had met the Dark Lord instead. Of course that would be an almost, for that wizard would have killed him instantly for being physically weak. Life was clearly just unfair.

"Portkey? You mean you were there the day at the Portkey Post?" Hermione asked.

"Oh I forgot, it didn't seem important at the time. Well of course it wasn't important. I'm not the kind who tells their life story to everybody. Even my best friends," Harry started to ramble. He looked up and saw that everyone, but Malfoy was waiting patiently for him to answer. This island was making him ramble. That is obviously not a good sign since they have only been on the island for more than a day. "Malfoy and Parkinson were on some honeymoon trip. We sadly met them on our way to the station."

"Well that seems just lovely! I don't even want to think about a pug-nosed Parkinson with a disgusting ferret," Ron said irritably.

"Does that mean there are other people on the island?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe if we get together with everybody else, we could all build a ship or something," Hermione said. Now that they had time to discover parts of this island, they could probably create some magical device to guide them back. Hermione remembered that somewhere in the book a compass spell, similar to what Harry had used during his Third Task in fourth year, would help. However, the one thing she was worried about was if they went out on sea and their magic would stop working because of the peculiarity of this island.

During their conversation, Malfoy was trying to interject, but every time he raised a finger to say something he was interrupted by the other's conversations. He was starting to get annoyed, but he didn't want to anger Scarhead, the Weasels, and the Mud-Blood for he had to ask them something. Currently, life seemed to have turned upside down. He would never in his life ask for anything from the Mud-Blood or Weasel, maybe Potter if he was chained upside down in a dragon pit, but this was just outrageous. He had to ask one of the low-minded filthy wizards a question, one which he probably would regret asking. He abhorred this island, and hoped that a storm of lightning would strike him down. Actually, he would rather have the idiots struck down by lightning. He should be a survivor.

"That would be great if we built a ship, but we wouldn't know where to go!" Ron said.

"Well it was just a thought. Maybe with more people there are more great minds. That way we could all find a way to get off the island," Hermione said not telling them of her theory that would dampen their moods. She wanted to give them a little false hope and have them enjoy their 'vacation' while it would last. Now she too could smell an adventure coming by that both Ron and Harry wouldn't notice until it was almost palpable.

"Maybe one of the natives has a magical map," Harry included.

"That would be great, wouldn't it just be!" Ron said dreaming to get off of the island.

"The problem with that is, that they are all just ideas of our imagination. Nothing ever goes as perfectly as we wish it to," Ginny said sadly. She was never the pessimistic one, just always trying to bring the reality to the situation. Her brother often went off on large tangents.

"How come you are sometimes too wise?" Harry asked Ginny, smiling.

"Sometimes? I am just myself; I did take a philosophy class in Mediwitch School, though it was in my first year. I forgot most of it," Ginny said laughing.

"How is that wise in any way?" Ron said. He didn't think that was a wise statement. In fact he probably could come up with a better wise statement that would impress everybody else.

They continued laughing about how Ginny was either wise or unwise. Feeling a little left out, Hermione created some random quote that she believed was wise. However, it had no relation to their current topic and the four of them just ended up laughing.

"Do I have to take off my robes and wave my drawers above my head to get your attention?" Draco Malfoy said loudly. When they all stopped laughing and focused on him, he turned a very slight shade of pink.

"What do you have to say, Malfoy?" Harry spat.

"If you haven't noticed, I found you and somehow your conversation changed from me to some ludicrous ideas of philosophy. It looks as if you don't even know why I am stuck on this ridiculous island."

"That's great Malfoy, but is there any reason you are here or is there any way we can get rid of you?" Ron asked rudely.

Hermione glared at him, "Ron, he needs help, look at him!"

"I don't need your help, Mudblood. I was going to ask if any of your wands work. I can't seem to use any healing charms and after…" He stopped quietly.

"Well since I am a mediwitch, I am inclined to help you. After all, it's in the book of healers' rules that every healer must help every creature when they are in need of help. Even if you wish not to be my patient, I am obligated to help you unless of course you are a Death Eater," Ginny said in a haughty tone. She remembered just the way he acted in the Portkey Port and did not really want to speak to him.

"Ginny, don't help him. He is a Death Eater. In fact when we get off this island we should be able to arrest them. With Harry, we could do anything!" Ron said and almost everybody rolled their eyes. Sometimes they wondered why they didn't just use a silencing charm on him.

Hermione was about to say something to Ron, but Harry asked Malfoy, "What was it you were going to say Malfoy? After what happened? Where's your fiancé?"

"Parkinson isn't my fiancé, Scarhead. And I don't need your help, Weasel, I'll leave once I find a way to get off this island," Malfoy said irritably. He could do it himself. He was right. He regretted even finding them all on this island. Malfoy imagined escaping and laughing at them while leaving them stranded. After all, he also didn't want to be around the trash.

"Oh shut up, Malfoy. We all know you yourself can't find a way off this island. And that gash above your wrist looks really bad," Ginny said.

"What happened?" Harry repeated.

They were all very curious as to why and how Malfoy was stranded on the island too. Maybe this was a clue to how the four of them got here. Could it be true that more than one Portkey malfunctioned? If this was true, Hermione imagined the amount of damage that would be done to her project. Malfoy would most likely sue anyone who created the Portkey Port, and her whole project would be ruined. However, that did mean less work to be done. At the same time, she was a little worried about Malfoy in a non-business way, as well. If he died, of course many legal obligations would surface, but also she didn't really want to see Malfoy die in front of her. There was enough of that during the war. Also, it would ruin the recently created _Witch Weekly's Top Ten Most Eligible Bachelor List_. What a catastrophe it would cause among teen-witches. When in the business, one must always think of the teenagers, who had the free money to spend. In the non-business way, Hermione didn't feel it would be politically correct to enjoy the death of Malfoy. After all, he was a 'fellow student' at Hogwarts. There had to be some amount of empathy there. The same kind of thought encompassed the minds of Harry, Ron and Ginny.

Malfoy had seemed to ignore Harry's question. It seemed as if the same old Slytherin and Gryffindor tensions would never subside. Even with this, Ginny decided to do something. Her Mediwitch senses were tingling and she had to do something about it. Ginny had rolled up Malfoy's sleeve, and put pressure onto the deep gash, but he recoiled from her touch. He didn't want Weasel filth to touch her.

Draco arrogantly pulled his arm away from Ginny. He wiped some sweat off his brow and finally breathed, "Pansy's missing." He glanced at everybody once again and then fainted.


	7. What We Found So Far

_Seven: What We Found So Far_

"Has the ferret awoken yet?" Hermione asked Ginny is a disinterested tone.

"If you'd see for yourself, he is kind of lying in the middle of our floor!" Ginny said pointing to the bundle of mass directly beneath them. She knew however that after Malfoy had fainted no one had spoken for a while. Actually, it was just Ginny and Hermione who hadn't spoken. They were just inside, sipping some water while watching Malfoy's unconscious form. The other two were outside chatting. Hermione was just trying to start conversation. After some pestering, Ron had used a charm to bring Malfoy into one of the tents, but he wasn't very careful and he basically just dragged Malfoy's 'carcass' into the tent without minding if he created new scrapes on the way in.

"Well did you see why he fainted?"

"Apparently, looking at your survival guide, it seems as if Malfoy accidentally allowed a poisonous plant to enter his system through that deep gash on his wrist. This probably caused him a lot of pain, and eventually his body couldn't take it anymore, and that is why he fainted," Ginny said. Her medical knowledge backed up what the survival guide had stated so she was pretty sure that was what happened. If there were poisonous plants on this island then they would have to be more careful with where they go. No one here had focused much of there attention in herbology, though Ginny had to take classes in that for becoming a Medi-Witch. Hermione was focused during her Hogwarts career, but those plants were just the basics and maybe a beginning of the more advanced plant knowledge. In any way, they had to make sure to be careful around here for they didn't recognize many of the plants on the island and they wouldn't know how to create a good antidote for the poisonous ones. Ginny had tried her best with the book to create a good antidote for Malfoy with the help of Hermione.

"That sounds pretty logical. However, if he were in that much pain wouldn't we have known?"

"He is a Malfoy, probably too arrogant to ask for help from us – a mud-blood and a mud-blood lover," she said, with the last words mimicking Malfoy. "His skin was almost impossibly pale, too."

Hermione shared a laugh with Ginny and they both went outside to see what Ron and Harry were up to. While Ginny and Harry gathered fruit, Hermione and Ron had spent their time exploring parts of the island. Ron drew a pretty good-scaled map of what they had so far explored on the island. He was currently pointing out all the features of the island to Harry. When he saw Hermione and Ginny arrive he decided to explain once again the different areas of the island they had found.

"See this area?" he said pointing to the far left of the map, "This is a sort of waterfall place. So if Harry is a little uncomfortable using the girl's shower, he could always go there. However, it is pretty large and having so much space around you when you take a shower can be in itself uncomfortable. I would recommend this area for swimming, since we all did bring our swimming trunks. Now the area before the swimming hole can probably be turned into a fishing or recreational area. The sand there is very nice and soft. Also, there doesn't seem to be many stones or creatures there to hurt you while playing. From what we saw, the island is very beautiful and we can still enjoy some form of vacation," he said finishing off.

"Are you saying that we are officially lost and may not get off of this island for a while?" Ginny asked. It was finally confirmed by everybody that they were lost, there was no chance that they weren't.

"That may be the case," Ron sighed, "But if we are lost on our vacation, we might as well have fun. After all, you know the Ministry will make a big deal out of this and the Portkey Port."

Hermione didn't even want to think of what kind of mayhem would be created because of this mess. Everyone on this island was important in some way and this would cause great outrage towards the project she worked so hard on. She wasn't going to think about the consequences as of yet, not until they found a way to get off the island.

"Did you tell them the most interesting part of our exploration?" Hermione asked.

"Oh right, I was about to get to that. About a quarter of a kilometer from here, we found this sort of alcove formed by many trees. It's as if the end of that area will lead us to inhabitants of the island…"

"So did you explore that area?" Harry asked.

"No because I thought it would be best if we all go together. Hermione wished to explore it at that moment, stating that two people would be enough. However, what if that place doesn't lead us to inhabitants? Even if it did, what would happen if it led us to not so friendly inhabitants? What if it led us to some monstrous creature? 'Mione did come to the conclusion that some sort of strong magic brought us here and that alcove could lead us to a lethal reason," Ron said quietly.

"I guess you are right, Ron. Our wands allow different spells so it would be best if we all went together," Ginny said a while later. "If we were to go into a dangerous area, it would be best to practice hexes to see which ones work and which ones don't."

"We could use Malfoy as bait," Harry suggested enthusiastically.

Ron made an agreeing sound, but both Hermione and Ginny glared at them. "Even though we hate him, there is no reason we could use him as bait. He's injured."

"Didn't I already say somewhere that I don't need your help, _mud-blood_?" Draco drawled from behind them. He had come out of the girls' tent with a hand over his aching head. The medicine that Ginny had given him wasn't the best, as she made it herself using plants on the island. It would give Malfoy a woozy sort of effect and a headache that would last a while.

They all turned their attention to Malfoy, and they all were annoyed. All four of them shot a glare at Malfoy. They had finally established a way for them to somehow enjoy their 'new vacation' and now Malfoy had arrived to ruin everything. Malfoys were always known to ruin everything. It was just some great coincidence, created by Merlin, who decided that adding a Malfoy to their already almost hopeless cause would make life just wonderful. Just sarcastically wonderful.

"We have to ask you some questions, Malfoy," Hermione finally said.

"Well for one, I am not going to be used as your bloody bait to be attacked by any ferocious beasts out here. I am probably the most important figure on this island, for I have a large business to maintain. They can always replace members of the ministry with even better employers. However, replacing me would be clearly very difficult for no one knows or understands the skills of a Malfoy."

"We weren't going to ask that, you stupid git," Ginny said sighing.

"Actually, we don't even need to ask him that. We can just clunk him in the head with a large piece of wood and then use him as bait. We were going to ask how long it would take you to leave us alone?" Ron asked.

"Oh shut up, Ron! We all know that bastard can't survive on the island by himself. He's barely in the condition and I have no reason why he even feels safe with us," Harry included. It seemed no matter how many names the four of them insulted Malfoy with it left no effect on him at all. He obviously still believed he was far superior to at least three of the four friends.

"I didn't know you were the inhabitants of the tents. I thought they were made by the natives of the island. Though the tents are terribly constructed, I felt at least the natives could show me off the island," Malfoy said.

"Wait, you were going to find a way off the island without your friend, Parkinson? That is so cruel and inhumane…but then again Malfoys aren't known for being humans. I think they are part goblin," Ginny added actually spitting out the first creature that came into her mind.

"I am NOT part goblin, you muggle-loving wench," he said bewildered. He surely didn't look like a goblin. He did not want to be compared to those short annoying creatures that worked at banks. "And no, I was planning to get information on how to get off the island and then find Parkinson…I mean Pansy."

The insults were just flying everywhere. All five of them knew it was going to be a long time before they could actually get together and work. Four Gryffindors and one infamous Slytherin made an equal match for it was obvious that Malfoy could defend his own name when he wished to do so. They knew from now on it was going to take a long time to make decisions and currently, a few wanted to get rid of Malfoy as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure she held the same portkey as you? Or did she decide to go to wherever you were going alone?" Harry added in a hopeful tone that Malfoy's friend actually left him.

"I know for sure that Pansy used the same portkey as me. She insisted that we should portkey as just the two of us so that…uhm," Malfoy ended, surprised he actually used the word and then continued on when he remembered, "so that we wouldn't be surrounded by so many ghastly ugly and sweaty wizards. It was a great idea that you Scarhead got all the attention by the attendent or we would have been with so many of the idiotic witches and wizards. Some who are probably mud-bloods," he spat.

"Where were you going?" Hermione asked.

"Stop swearing Malfoy, or I'll hex you more than you were injured before," Ron said angrily before allowing his old school enemy from answering Hermione's question (He didn't really expect a great reply). He wouldn't stop his friends and sister from insulting them though, for Malfoy deserved any form of verbal harassment.

"Why should I tell you? It's none of your business!" Malfoy asked annoyed. He almost felt like a little boy who was about to cross his arms on his chest and pout. Ron's expectations were made.

"You should, because maybe we could figure out how to get off this island or if anybody else is on it," Harry said. If he had in any way matured over the past years he would eventually be helpful. However, Harry knew that both him and Ron hadn't matured in any way, so it seemed impossible to have a decent conversation with Malfoy. It wasn't as if they wanted to have a conversation with Malfoy in the first place. Getting rid of him was on his list of top priorities.

"What's the point? Why should you care if I were going to France?" He stopped after knowing he blurted out his destination. It was the damn medicine's fault. He hated Ginny and the stupid plants at this moment.


	8. Here To Stay

**A/N: **In response to padfootedmoony who asked a question about my sense of geography: First of all I do know my geography, after all my social studies class was usually focused on geography. Yes I do know where the Atlantic Ocean is and which countries it touches. That would be pretty sad if someone didn't know that, especially if you're a person who has passed at least second grade. The one thing that you should notice is that the island is tropical and has many traits of an island that you would see more closer to the Equator. It has the mysterious traits of a jungle, with bright fruits and strange animals. Would you see that sort of thing in France? England? Temperature change? Climate Change? Why would the four of the group members believe they were on their vacation island? No, so it would be logical to say that they are more south and away from the Eastern Hemisphere…well that part hasn't been figured out yet but that is just a clue I am going to give away.

_Eight: Here to Stay_

"Wait, you were going to France?" Hermione asked surprised. She was the first to say something after what Malfoy said. Both Harry and Ginny didn't see what was so important about the idea of France until Hermione asked the question in a very surprised tone.

The whole thing didn't make sense, if the four of them were all trying to go to the Caribbean, it would make sense that they ended up somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. However, how would Malfoy be sent all the way across from here?

Ron's eyes widened at the idea, and he felt that there was no mistake in their portkey. Now he knew that someone or something had brought them to the island. At the moment, he felt that he shouldn't tell anyone, because for some reason no one really listened to his well thought out ideas. He may have been wrong about Malfoy, but there was still a chance he had brought them all here and this was a set up. Malfoy was from a very sly and cunning family, and he most likely would bring them here for some evil purpose. Damn that Death Eater.

The whole thing didn't make sense, if the four of them were all trying to go to the Caribbean, it would make sense that they ended up somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. However, how would Malfoy be sent all the way across from here? Maybe they weren't in the Atlantic Ocean and they were closer to their home country. However, judging the island as a tropical island trounced that idea. They were further down south.

"I don't think there are any other people from the Portkey Port here," Malfoy said ignoring Hermione's question.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I crossed the whole bloody island looking for natives and what I found were you idiots. Knowing that if wizards were lost on an island, they would make themselves so conspicuous while trying to stay inconspicuous. It's natural for any wizards, for most of them are mud-blood loving buffoons."

The whole idea made complete sense, especially during the Quidditch World Cup. All four of them remembered the day when wizards were trying to appear like muggles, but instead made it very obvious that they were indeed wizards. Harry never thought of it this way, and for once he had to admit that he agreed with Malfoy.

Ron approached Malfoy in a very angry manner, but Harry stopped him. "You can hurt him after we hear what he has got to say."

"You didn't see one person?"

"What does it matter? Can I leave now? You already healed me because you are so obligated to it, but I see no reason why, Weaselette. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I wish to leave this area at once and find my own way of getting off this island. Which does not include you. Also, I need to find my friend," Malfoy said angrily.

He really needed to find Parkinson. First her parents would really kill him and second he actually considered her as almost a friend. She had grown a little more maturely after they both left Hogwarts. Pansy was also an important secretary of his in the Malfoy Business, and he really needed her for their business trip. Not that there would be a meeting anymore, but she still had much information that he didn't bother to keep for he knew he had her.

"Tell us if you found anything unusual on the jungle. You can't leave until you tell us what's in the trees out there," Ginny said.

"If you really want to know, I heard some crazy bloody voice, but I thought it was my imagination and I left it alone," he blurted out. Damn that medicine, he could barely keep his thoughts together with that terrible headache he had.

"Malfoy, we should look for Parkinson with you," Ron said surprisingly.

"What?" Both Hermione and Harry said shocked at Ron's statement. Ginny, who didn't take in his statement, dropped her mouth a few seconds later and looked to see her other friends' reactions. They smiled at her late reaction, but Ginny knew that that was only because she rarely paid attention to what her youngest older brother usually had to say.

"Well if we do get off this island, everybody would have known Malfoy and Parkinson were on the island. If we don't even try to search for her, what could we say? We could lie, but that's a Slytherin thing to do," he said, going back to the unwritten rules of each house in Hogwarts. Although they could also make up a story that they didn't even encounter Malfoy or Parkinson, they were still Gryffindors and believed that they had to do the right thing. At least they all knew the girls would nag both of the boys so much that in the end it would be stupid to cause an argument and better to avoid it.

Everybody knew that they weren't in Hogwarts anymore, and all the morals and codes of conducts that remained with each house died after they left. They had to move on after Hogwarts, only the memories of the teachers and the things that they remembered could help them now. It was strange that after such a long time Ron would mention the codes of conducts of each House of their old school.

"I guess we will look for Parkinson, but it's starting to get late. We first need to figure out where Malfoy is going to stay. Also, it's too late to go out right now. Harry's right, the hopefully imaginary creatures on this island could attack at night," Ginny said.

Malfoy showed a small glimpse of relief when Ginny said that he was allowed to stay here. Even though he didn't wish to be with the four gits, he also didn't want to be prey for any predator out there. He couldn't even imagine how he was able to survive for so long out on this unknown magical island. Draco couldn't remember much when he was basically running blindly throughout the jungle looking for Parkinson. He didn't know where he was, he was sure he was poisoned, but he was scared. He could remember his heart thumping wildly in his chest and tripping on some branches many times. There were two other times he was inside an unknown forest, and one of those times was in his first year at Hogwarts. He really didn't like the idea of unknown forests, and from his past experiences; he never wanted to go inside an unknown forest again. When he noticed everyone looking at him again, he gave them all his arrogant sneer and looked passed Ginny's shoulder to demonstrate that he wasn't really interested in what anyone was saying. However, they all knew inside that something about this place had been bothering him.

"Well he isn't staying anywhere near me!" Ron said.

"Does that mean he will stay with us?" Ginny asked.

"No way! He'll just have to build another tent then," Ron said.

"Right now? It took you almost six hours to just build ours. There is no way he could build one. You two will have to turn your 'kitchen' into another bedroom." Hermione didn't want anybody to carry another tent around while looking for Pansy, nor did she want to share her tent with Malfoy. The thought of sharing the tent for just the nighttime made her feel like gagging.

Malfoy had already seen the boys' tent and said, "You expect me to stay in such a small room? That room could probably could barely fit me!" He didn't understand where he would put all his things. Though with a simple shrinking spell he knew everything would work out, but bothering the four people he hated the most in this world thoroughly amused him. Immaturity counted as nothing on this island.

"It's large enough for you, it's just nothing you would be used to, living in extravagance," Hermione retorted.

"Hey you don't have to stay with us," Harry said.

Malfoy didn't reply to that statement and later enjoyed watching Harry and Ron struggle with their transfiguration charms. They were terrible at transfiguration and the room that was made looked like a mud hole. Malfoy finally got up and expertly used the transfiguration charms he remembered and ensured that his room was the best of all the rooms in both of the tents. When both Harry and Ron protested about this, Malfoy merely stated that he built his own room just like they originally wanted him to. Although in Hogwarts, he wasn't the best in transfiguration, he later learned some very useful spells for a man of his status later on. He had some really great secretaries after the war who were taught the spells in their school, but now he only had Pansy. It was a good thing he became interested in such spells.

Hermione and Ginny were meanwhile planning the next day's events. They couldn't decide on whether to look for Pansy first or look inside the alcove. Both of them giggled over the fact that they didn't want Pansy sharing a room with them. However, they knew this was a serious topic, for Parkinson was missing and this was not a good thing. If something had happened to her they knew that this would mean the end to Hermione's project and it could mean that they were all in a far more dangerous situation then they had imagined. Although it seemed as if Malfoy wasn't too concerned over his missing friend, it was important to find her. They would at the same time learn more about the island and maybe eventually find a way to get off of it. Hermione then suddenly remembered they never asked Malfoy what happened after they touched the portkey. She would remember the next day to ask him. After their plans for the next day, they continued with a merry chat.

"Can you believe that we have three of the ten Witch Weekly's Top Ten List of the Most Eligible Bachelors stuck on an island? And there are only two of us!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Well for one thing, Ron is my brother and anything to do with him is disgusting. Harry is good-looking, but he is just a friend of mine…"

"I kind of wish it was Wood here instead of Malfoy. Then this really would be an island paradise. Though just the beauty of it is amazing. And the fact that Parkinson is missing, but hopefully not dead," Hermione added after Ginny gave her a shocked expression. She had just sounded more like Ron and Harry, especially Ron. Ron would do almost anything to get rid of any Slytherin he faced.

"Two against three!" Ginny said with a sigh. "Isn't that just wonderful?" Maybe staying on this island a little longer wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. They knew by now that wizards everywhere would be searching for them, especially Harry and Draco, so if they stayed on the island for a while, they would eventually be found…

"Well, you still have your Malfoy. Do you still like him?"

"Come on you have to admit Hermione that he is really handsome!" Ginny said blushing a little and playfully slapping her friend's arm. "And he has grown even more handsome after school."

"I guess…" Hermione just said to please Ginny.

"However, he still is an arrogant cold bastard and personality should always come before looks, right?"

"Yeah, that's right and that is why only a gold digger would marry him. Though this is a stereotype and I shouldn't be saying this I have a feeling he just owls in whores to do what he wishes. He doesn't seem the type who could ever marry. I doubt he even knows the meaning of love."

"To tell you the truth, I don't know the meaning of love. I think that is why people get married, after they find the true meaning of the word. And if they make mistakes, that is where divorce comes in," Ginny said.

"That philosophy class sure has taught you a lot, you are just so wise," Hermione said smiling with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh shut up!" Ginny said laughing at the thought of being wise.


	9. Surprise an Oxymoron!

_Nine: Surprise an Oxymoron!_

The thing that had bothered Ginny, which she remembered when she finally woke up, was the fact that she was not the only one who heard voices in the forest. It sounded as if Malfoy too had heard a native from behind. It scared her that after almost three days they had not seen any of the natives. Maybe they both just heard voices that would come with the thought of being lost.

However, she knew she wasn't going mad…at least not yet. It was as if they were waiting for something. Maybe what she heard weren't even the sounds of actual humans. They could have been some of the creatures on the island. What if that thing that both of them heard was something that was waiting for a good moment to pounce on them. However, by now that creature would know they were pretty much defenseless with malfunctioning wands. That creature might have just been checking to see if they were predators. She still hoped that that thing wasn't checking to see if they would make good prey. All this mysteriousness was starting to scare her and she didn't like it. She yearned to be safe again and on the island that she was supposed to be on. So far all they saw were some birds and crabs, but no other creatures. This fact added to the eeriness of the island.

She yawned and got out of her bed. Ginny found some extra clothes that Hermione had left out for her the night before. She was still not able to unshrink her trunk and continued to wear Hermione's clothes. She went out to get something to eat; the bag that Harry and Ginny had kept to keep the fruits in was placed right outside of their tent. Hermione and Harry had both said they couldn't stand the smell of the fruit for a long period of time so they put it outside in a basket. They had used a sticking charm so that the basket would stick to both the boys' and girls' tent, and this was the only thing that connected the two. The endless jug however, was thought not to be too safe outside of the tent so Hermione had kept that in the girls' tent. She argued that both her and Ginny were more organized and would not lose something, which both Ron and Harry were very capable of doing. It was amusing to hear both Ron and Harry's arguments of why they were capable of just a jug. Hermione then reminded them of the times that Harry forgot his invisibility cloak, and managed to get a detention. Then Ginny reminded her brother of the time they had found their old owl Pig stuck inside of a gum shield created by Fred and George. When the girls won the argument they made sure they put the jug in a safe place that Harry and Ron wouldn't be able to find unless they would ask for it. Knowing that both of them loved to prove themselves capable of anything they had to hide the jug. It was after all a very important item.

Ginny was sorting through the fruits, trying to pick one that she felt she wanted to eat. However, she was starting to get sick of fruit, and since they were not very filling she knew they were going to have to soon resort to some other types of food. Already, the bag of corned beef sandwiches was almost empty. The boxes that Ginny had kept much food in were still shrunken along with her trunk. Maybe they could go fishing, or they could at least get one of the boys to go out to hunt. The thought then struck her – they didn't know what to hunt for. At the same time she did not want to think of the idea of hunting for food. It seemed to be something that was very uncivilized. Somehow, the thought of hunting reminded her of the war. To her in some strange way hunting reminded her of the way a Death Eater would creep up on their next victim. She didn't want to think of anything that reminded her of the war. Things like that made her shiver. However, she decided that something like this could not bother her, for there were so many other things that she could use to occupy her mind at the moment.

When she finally picked out a fruit that satisfied her, she sat down to peel it open. During this time she heard the familiar rustle of the opening of a tent. She looked up and saw Malfoy come out. Of all the people to wake up early with her, why did it have to be him? She gave him a small glare and continued to peel open her purple fruit. After she peeled it she found a nearby log and with the help of her wand dragged it to use it as a sort of bench. She sat down and decided to ignore his presence for as long as possible, which wasn't very long.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked.

"I'm trying to eat." She thought that was pretty obvious.

"How do you even know that is edible?" He asked. His stomach was grumbling, and he didn't want to risk eating something poisonous. After all he had a business to maintain and if he was killed off by some sort of poisonous fruit that wouldn't make his name look good. Then again, if the girl was eating it then he could also eat it too.

"Mione has a survival guide book, which showed us a spell to check if certain fruits or vegetables are edible. Do you want one?" She asked smirking. Her expression made it look as if the fruit was indeed toxic.

He didn't answer but took the same kind of fruit out of the basket. Draco decided that he had to trust her for why would a healer try to poison her own patient? He took a bite out of it and gave her a disgusted look, "This is so bitter how can you eat this…this ghastly _thing_!" He paused and then answered his own question, "But then again knowing that you are a Weasley you probably are used to eating anything that you can get your hands on."

Ginny shrugged off the insult; she knew it would come from a Malfoy. Instead she giggled, "Don't you know weasels and ferrets are related?"

He glared at her then scooted away from her. Then he decided to pick the pink fruit. He took a bite out of it and was more satisfied with this one. "This one tastes pink," he said almost to himself.

"I said that too, Harry wouldn't believe me. He said food doesn't taste like colors." She replied.

Malfoy was quite surprised that the Weasel girl would actually want to talk to him. However, ever since his fifth year she did seem to be less shy and more social. He noticed that at the same time she would spend her time with the outcasts of her school, like Lovegood or Longbottom. Maybe she thought he was going to be lonely, and that idea angered him a bit. If she thought he was some sort of outcast she was wrong. There was no way a Weasley could ever pity a Malfoy. That thought in itself would probably make his father turn over in his grave.

Since Malfoy didn't say anything back she then asked in an amused tone, "So Malfoy, what are you going to do about clothes? It doesn't seem as if you have a trunk with you…I don't know if Harry or Ron would want to share any of their clothes with you. They wouldn't want Malfoy germs on them. Hermione wouldn't share her clothes for sure, because they probably wouldn't fit you and she wouldn't want someone that has called her a mud-blood all her life to even think about touching her clothes. I would share my clothes, but then again they are shrunken in my trunk. Also, if they were unshrunken I doubt I would even think to share them with you. Your presence itself has made my brother sick and I don't think it would be nice to see him vomit when you would be in my clothes." She started to ramble and stopped to see Malfoy's expression.

She decided that it was better to talk to Malfoy now, for he was now part of their group until he found his friend. They didn't know how long it would be until they were reunited, and so Ginny decided it would be best if she talked to him. This way, maybe just maybe Malfoy would ease up on all of them and they would all be able to have a civil conversation. Another reason why she decided to soften up on him was because she found out after healing him that he wasn't a Death Eater. After the war healers were taught a charm that would reveal an old mark on a wizard's skin. This was used primarily to find out if wizards or witches used to be Death Eaters.

After Harry killed Voldermort the mark faded on all of the Death Eaters' skin. To find if they were evil or not this charm would bring up old marks. Ginny had used this charm on Malfoy and found no mark. It surprised her that Malfoy was not a Death Eater. However, the thought deep in her mind was that some Death Eaters were able to escape the charm by using Dark Magic. This magic was very complicated. Only a Death Eater that really had to hide a deep dark secret would use such magic. Usually, healers would not perform the spell so other Death Eaters felt no worry when they decided not to use the spell. Most healers believed that almost all Death Eaters would have a very difficult time trying to use a complicated counter-spell in order to prevent their mark from being seen. Nowadays, most Death Eaters would get a fair and safe trial so the spell wasn't needed. If there was no mark on his skin, he should be trusted.

"Like I would want Weasel or Scarhead germs on me either." He replied a while later. Even though he was a twenty-two year old man acting like an immature first year student, he was still talking with a Weasley. He was talking to a Weasley that was lost on an island with him. If things could get any more confusing and strange, this would just be normal. And at the moment the immature statement was normal. Draco then took out something from his pocket and showed it to Ginny and haughtily said, "I got my trunk here right in my pocket. Like I would trust it with Pansy."

He then took out his ebony wand and unshrunk his trunk. Ginny was surprised that he could actually do the spell on the island, but said nothing. Just because he could manage to do one spell perfectly did not mean that his wand was perfectly normal. She didn't want to create more suspicions now, after all he was not a Death Eater. Also, he obviously did not come on this island ready to attack them, as healing him was a very difficult process. She changed the topic but still decided to keep a closer watch on him.

"Malfoy we were going to ask you how you even got on the island. Would you care to tell me?"

"I don't want to tell you anything. I just want to find Pansy and get off this island with her." Draco replied.

"Well I am not my brother, Hermione, or Harry; or in your words – Weasel, Mud-blood or Scarhead. You barely talked to me in school, aside from the bat boogey hex in my fourth year. That wasn't talking though," she started to ramble remembering encounters with him in school, "My point is, we need to figure out how to get off this island, and Hermione said that the best way is first to find out how we got on this island. So.."

"I get your point _Weaselette_. Fine, if that means you will stop bothering me then I will talk," he said holding his hands up in a surrendering position. He made sure to emphasize his new nickname for the woman sitting next to him. It was just to prove that she too was part of the group that he abhorred. However, for the first time in the history of magic, a Weasley grinned at a Malfoy.


	10. The Other Portkey

_Ten: The Other Portkey  
_"Well after we had a nice chat with you, Pansy realized that they were calling our portkey next. She grabbed my hand and we bolted for the station. Of course I don't 'bolt' but you understand what I mean," Draco drawled in his normal tone, "Anyway, Pansy thought it would be best if we went into the corner to take a portkey. She didn't want the other bloody wizards to be in our way. Annoying wizards they are – some who are probably mere muggle-borns. Scarhead's attention did help us get to a secluded corner for once they found that the boy-who-can-never-die was in their station they pounced on him. It was obnoxious and amusing at the same time. Pansy was happy that the mud-bloods had left us."

Ginny wondered why Malfoy had to repeat his distaste for muggle born wizards over and over again. It might have been because Hermione was part of their group. Now it seemed as if they could never get along, but as long as he was giving her information that she needed, she wouldn't nag him. It did bother her that this was after a war where an era should have started in which all wizards would get along with muggles. This form of hatred was supposed to stop, but Ginny guessed that it would take time. She tried to remember in her muggle studies class about wars that were started because of differences of race. That had disgusted her at first, but then she realized the same thing was happening among the purebloods and the wizards who were not as pure. She rolled her eyes once she realized that Malfoy had not given her any information that she could clue together. Maybe both of their portkeys did malfunction, and this all was just a big mess. Once Hermione would find out that the portkeys just malfunctioned she would be very stressed. Malfoy was a very affluent man and if he decided to press legal charges against her, Hermione would end up in a lot of trouble. Knowing Malfoy's hatred of Hermione, Ginny bet that Hermione had already thought of this and that is why she tried her best not to speak with Malfoy.

She heard some movement in the boy's tent and a moment later, both Harry and Ron stepped out. They both frowned at Ginny for speaking with Malfoy, but they said nothing. They each took something out of the basket of fruits, and then sat next to Ginny. Malfoy had said nothing after Harry and Ron had come out. He ignored their presence and chose to look at the scenery instead of anybody else. It took him just a few minutes to get bored looking at the ocean waves crashing over and over again at the shore. He finally gave up and continued to tell his experiences.

"So we gathered up in the corner and took the disgusting ugly old portkey to the island…" He looked up to see expressions of curiosity on what else could be disgusting in terms of Malfoy and for once he answered (although nobody really asked him), "it was a hideous brown boot."

Ron and Harry gasped while Ginny's eyebrows went to the top of her forehead. Malfoy looked at them suspiciously, questioning their actions of astonishment. He concluded shortly after that they must have been surprised that a Malfoy would use something old as a portkey. That sounded about right. They had known Malfoy throughout his school years at Hogwarts, and he was always dressed with the best dragon boots that could be found in England. Never would the thought occur to anyone that Malfoy would use an old boot as a portkey, if he could have created the portkey himself the oldest thing he would use would be the eighth pair of his favorite dragon boots.

"A boot, do you know what that could mean?" Harry asked all of them. He turned towards the others making sure his back was facing Malfoy, thus excluding the brute from their conversation.

"Couldn't it mean that we were sent here?" Ron asked.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence. Coincidences happen." Ginny replied shortly after.

"You realize it was just a boot. I furnish all my other things with extravagance. I had no choice. It was the only portkey not occupied by others. I like to portkey alone and not with strangers. If it were my own choice and not the stupid Ministry's I would have used a pair of my own dragon boots. I wouldn't even think of touching anybody elses _used_ shoes," Malfoy said defending himself.

Malfoy had this characteristic that whatever he said would stop everybody from what they were doing and look at him. Usually what he said was absurd and outrageous. The three of them stopped discussing the coincidence and looked at Malfoy. Since he said nothing else after they turned back around and continued discussing this discovery.

"Would you like for me to finish my story. It is rather interesting, there you could find out how I got my cuts and scrapes. That might help you get off this island." Malfoy said now annoyed by the idea that some old stupid boot would actually help them get off the island.

Instead of replying again Harry asked how the portkey looked. The description was just the same one that depicted their portkey. When Hermione finally came out of the tent they all told her about Malfoy's portkey, and finally Malfoy was able to comprehend what was going on. He didn't feel embarrassed by the way he acted when he was confused, for after all he did tell them the truth of what he would rather have done. Malfoy did hear a rumor that Granger was one of the people who set up the Portkey Port and denouncing the Port would satisfy him in an incomprehensible way.

The idea that they were all set up didn't make any sense at all. Why would anyone want to trap a Malfoy and a Potter at the same time? They were both on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, the good vs. evil spectrum, or any other spectrum there was! It didn't make any sense to the four old Gryffindors. When no one spoke they all thought about any similarities between the five of them that would connect them all. Obviously, the four Gryffindors fought in the war on the 'right side,' but Malfoy didn't seem to even be in the war. This similarity must have been something outside of politics.

Malfoy was thinking along the same lines. He didn't understand who would want to trap them all. It couldn't be for money, for only he himself had the most amount of money that anybody would actually desire for. The only link between all five of them was their fame. However, that idea left out Parkinson. Draco knew he made it known throughout that they were going on a business trip together. Maybe that is why she was missing. Could someone have gotten rid of her because she was not important? This idea startled Draco and for no apparent reason he decided to stand up.

This action once again drew all the attention to Malfoy. They all looked at him strangely. Harry was about to say something but decided against it and waited for Malfoy to say something.

Malfoy was bewildered by this discovery all he could say at the moment was, "Pansy…"

"What is it about your fiancé?" Ron asked rudely.

This one statement by this one particular person could have been the only thing that would have brought Malfoy back to reality. He was consumed in his thoughts but he finally shared it with the others, "The only link between us is our fame. Pansy doesn't have anything that could tie her to fame and that could be her reason for her disappearance. If she disappeared then that must mean there is something out on this island that is after us for a reason. Maybe this monster doesn't like the idea that we are famous and that could be the reason…_we are all going to die!"_

The last words were almost shouted out with the most emphasis that could be imagined. Everybody looked at him bewildered by his outburst. They knew from this statement that Malfoy was going to be the first to go mad, if he hadn't already. He was being very delusional.

"Calm down Malfoy, you are jumping to conclusions here. We don't even know if Parkinson is missing yet, she could just be lost on the island. I don't know where you got this idea of a monster on the island, but just calm down. We aren't going to die…seriously Harry here killed Voldermort!" Hermione finally said. If Harry could defeat the most feared wizard of all time then all of them combined would be a terrifying match against whatever it was Draco feared.

Draco Malfoy once again tinged a pink color and the other two boys looked at him with an amused expression. After a few seconds he decided to brush off some dust off the dirty log and sit back down.

"Tell us what happened after you took the portkey," Ginny said quietly.

He knew everybody thought at this point that Malfoy was going crazy. Wasn't it logical? He was a Malfoy stuck with two Weasleys, a Potter, and a mudblood. How could he survive in an atmosphere filled with Gryffindor morals and practices? He wouldn't be able to do it. He was drilled from almost the day he was born with the idea that Weasleys were blood traitors, Potter deserved to die, and muggleborns were to be banished. This jigsaw piece didn't fit in the puzzle; he was an outsider and didn't belong in this place. That would be a pretty good reason for a man like himself to go mad.

Ginny seemed to be having the same thoughts and finally said, "Malfoy you aren't going mad. It's the side effects of the medicine. I never used the plants before so who knows how long the side effects will last. On top of that you are stressed that you're stuck on an island with your mortal enemies, and your only friend who you came with is lost. Relax Malfoy. It will be the best way for the side effects to wear off, if you stress out, it will just prolong your temporary mental illness." It wasn't really a mental illness, but she had just said that to add a factor of cruelty to her speech. For six years she had to deal with a Malfoy in their school torturing and denouncing her family name. This was probably the greatest moment for her to get back, and starting off with only minor demeaning sentences would be the best way she thought. However, at the same time she knew that it would be best for all of them to get along in order for them to fully cooperate. She would have to control her desires and focus her mind on the sole idea of how to get off this island with everybody.

He nodded his head unconsciously and said, "I think you are right. I think the Portkey dropped us from a large height. I fell and rolled onto a mass of jagged rocks. That's where the cuts and bruises came from. I thought I could heal it with my plant knowledge, but it seems I have forgotten about that and just managed to poison myself."

They had all remained quiet for a while. Ron, Hermione and Harry took some fruit from the basket, and ate it as their breakfast. The three of them knew what they had to do next, and even though they were very unwilling, they still had a thread of morality in them, even when dealing with Malfoy. Half an hour later one of them then decided it was time for them to get ready to look for Pansy Parkinson.


	11. The Trip Begins

_Eleven: The Trip Begins_

It took them all a while to pack up all their stuff and organize a way where people could conveniently carry anything that they couldn't risk being shrunk again. If their magic didn't work in the middle of the jungle and they had shrunken all the vital items, they would be stranded with no hope left. Ron and Ginny were the ones who decided who got to carry what according to how much they weighed, their current health (which only affected Malfoy but Ron had decided that he could carry more than what Ginny thought), and their stature. It took even longer to plan ways in which direction to use or how they were going to create bathroom spots. Harry refused to build another toilet, and Ron was worried about stepping in dung by accident.

When they finally all agreed on what to do, which took a long time for they had a Slytherin with them too (not to mention the Trio argued over almost everything), they set out for their first major journey on the island. Four out of five of these participants didn't want to go on this journey, but the girls had argued (against their own will) that Malfoy couldn't be left alone in the strange vastness of the jungle. They were eventually able to convince Ron when they said they needed to keep an eye on him too. Of course they knew it was until they had subtly hinted that Malfoy may be a Death Eater who had been tricking them all along to do as he wish until he decided it was the moment for him to sneak up from behind and kill them all, Ron would actually consider keeping Malfoy with him at all times to keep a watch on him.

Having not been trained in searching or camping skills no one knew how they were going to find which way to go. Hermione was able to use _The Wizard's Survival Guide To Any Place In The World! _to use tracking spells to find out where Malfoy came from. What confused Hermione was that Malfoy's trails seemed to be very long, and it seemed impossible for him to find them in such a short amount of time, especially in his condition. Although she kept her suspicions, she said nothing about this but went on. Now both of the girls were hiding something from their two best friends, they however knew that if mentioned to either Ron or Harry they would immediately leave Malfoy for the wild. They never really cared about Malfoy being eaten alive by a wild manticore, it was just that they knew that it would be their fault they had lost Malfoy when he was seemingly innocent. 'Innocent' and 'Malfoy' never went together, so it was a good idea to keep their silent doubts.

Ron was the one who decided to lead the group. Malfoy was still weakened from the poison, which Ginny finally said was diluted completely, and all the scars he obtained from his so-called business trip. He lagged behind in the group, which although annoyed the trio they didn't mind at all if Malfoy was behind them. At the same time Ron was quickly noted for his great use of strategies. Harry tagged behind Ron, and Hermione followed both of them. Ginny was frustrated for she had to stay in the back with Malfoy to take care of him. Through this line they followed each other into the beautiful but unknown jungle. It felt as if they were following the rose to its thorns. Even though she wanted to talk with Malfoy, Ginny still hated him. She only took this moment to pity him until they found his fiancé. Every time she saw his damn smirk, she clenched her fists and wished to smack him. She hated his smugness and almost wished to see him unconscious again. A sleeping dragon was always better than that which was conscious. The Trio took this time to ignore the both of them. Ginny was used to this kind of behavior from the Golden Ones, but knowing who she was stuck with, she sighed in frustration. She had assumed that Ron would always be keeping an eye on Malfoy throughout their whole trip. He just paused every few minutes and with the corner of his eye he would see what Malfoy was up to; once he was completely sure that Malfoy wasn't planning anything evil, he continued walking.

Malfoy in the meanwhile was increasingly getting better and could probably lead the pack. However, he was enjoying this special treatment he got from the stupid Gryffies, and thought he could use his 'weakness' as an advantage. Draco was always taught to look at every opportunity and take advantage of it. He just loved the way Harry reluctantly had to help him, just like Snape forced him in school. Why did this trip bring back so many memories? His smirk seemed to remain a permanent feature of his face until Ginny had interrupted his thoughts.

"Malfoy as much as we want to lose you, we can't. So whatever plan you have to get rid of us all, just ditch it once and for all."

Malfoy jerked back to reality and realized what the Weaslette was intending. He gave her a smirk in reply and noticed that she was clenching her fists in anger. Snickering would not be a good idea so he decided to quicken his pace by just a little. Recognizing the fact that he was indeed walking slowly, he blamed it on the medicine the daft Weasel gave to him. When he walked faster he saw that his seeker reflexes were coming back to him and in a day's time he would be back to normal. That meant no more medicine.

His smirk soon included something that looked like half an evil grin. Weasley looked at him strangely, but waited for him to come. The others were gaining speed and were lost in their own conversation that they wouldn't realize that the two of them were lagging behind until much later.

"Don't speak to me as if you are my equal Weasel-Bint." He later spat when he caught up to her.

She looked at him with a puzzled look and he replied, "I own a multi-national corporation that grows in size and wealth everyday. You are just a measly healer, who works for me. When I fully strengthen we'll see who will take charge."

"I think you need more medicine." She mumbled. It was unfair. She was infuriated. Ginny would never in her life work for _him._ After this thought raced through her mind she felt a large amount of pain coming from both of her hands. She looked down and noticed that her fingernails were starting to cut deep into her palm from clenching her fists so hard. He should know about the famous Weasley temper, although she was restraining herself from attacking him, her temper was rising. Currently, she was revising all the hexes she was very well-known for by her victims.

"If your brother and his clan were not in front of me I would be inclined to put an extremely painful curse on you." He said irritated.

"Like you could hex me. I think it was _I_ who caught you up in a bat bogey hex." She said venomously.

"That was in my fifth year, now I am now twenty-two. For all the training I received, I think I could take care of you easily."

"Training?" She asked now that her ears started to prick up. Now her suspicions of Malfoy were growing, but her conscience kept reminding her of the spell that she used on him. The two thoughts were clashing among each other in her mind and she could not understand what side Malfoy was on. It was obvious that she should not trust him, but she had to come to a conclusion. Everybody that Ginny met was either someone not to be trusted at all, or someone that could be somewhat trusted. She had to decide if he was completely evil or just obnoxious. Otherwise, she knew that there would be no way to survive on this island.

"That is none of your business Weasel, now walk ahead."

Ginny didn't dare to provoke Malfoy in his current state. She had heard rumors of him getting very angry. Some people claimed that he had even used an unforgivable on one of his employees. That rumor was disregarded for all the lawsuits Malfoy had been through all ended with his own triumph. What would happen if the famous Weasley temper met with the unspoken Malfoy temper? That was something Ginny wished to avoid, but knew that if their current chat continued, it would be inevitable.

They had caught up with the trio when Hermione and Ron lost the trail. They didn't know which way to go. Ron suggested that they give up and enjoy their trip, or at least find a way to get off of the island. This just led to another long speech and argument that included him and Hermione. Malfoy claimed he was tired from the medicine, but they ignored him. However, after the intense argument that Ron and Hermione had they finally decided to rest a few moments before the journey continued. Not one of them believed that had anything to do with Malfoy's suggestion.

They didn't know if they were in the middle of the island, or if they were not even close to it. Malfoy didn't help at all for he just gave snide remarks to anyone who questioned him. From being in contact with Malfoy for such a short period of time, they realized that Malfoy was really the son of Lucius, who had the same great business charisma and tactics. Lucius did work for the Ministry, but at the same time he headed the corporation. When Lucius lost the job at the Ministry, Draco took over the corporation and dropped the idea of working for the government. Lucius did after all ruin his name in the government section of his job, and at the same time, Malfoy had no desire to work for the government. Through his successful business he found another way to control the government.

"Malfoy, you ferret! Stop being a git and help us." Harry said glaring at him. That one sentence seemed to be dying to roll off Harry's tongue.

"Give me a good reason of why I should help you?"

"Isn't that obvious? Did that medicine Ginny give make you really that dense? We're finding your damn mate," Harry said, growing angrier with every word Malfoy spoke.

"Well from what I heard, you four are going to find her no matter what. After all, you're Gryffindors so why don't you find her yourself? It's the brave and noble thing to do." He said sitting on his bag with his arms folded across his chest. Draco almost looked like an irritated member of the royal family. It was amazing how Malfoy could make himself look like a king on a sack of extra clothes in the middle of some unknown forest. However, the other four weren't thinking of Malfoy's posture but rather of how angry they were at their worst enemy.

Harry almost wished for Voldemort as a companion rather than Malfoy. Almost. Almost. Aarrgh.

"She's your business partner."

"I can get a new one," He said simply. It was as if the new king of the jungle was about to command them to create a new business partner. The last thread of their morality was being drawn tight.

"Yesterday you collapsed, gasping her name. That must mean she's significant to you in some way," Ginny said finally.

"Shut up Weasel-bi..." he was going to finish that, but saw that both Potter and Weasel had withdrawn their wands and pointed it to Malfoy's royal head. If Scarhead really did kill the Dark Lord, maybe he shouldn't try to cross them too much.


	12. The Mark

**A/N: **Yes intense chapter ahead! I like this chapter because it is the beginning of the incredible action part of the story :) Hope you like it :)

_Twelve: The Mark_

They soon realized that Malfoy had no idea of where they were going. He was just using his snide remarks to prevent them from asking if they were lost or not. No one knew why he did it but they figured he was just being a git. After all, he _was_ a git, and probably still is. All four of them were furious with Malfoy but because he was still injured, though Ginny was starting to suspect he was faking, no one said anything. Harry really just wanted to try to see how many of Malfoy's bones he could break before the git's body would be found. Ron was thinking along the same lines, but knowing that nobody would listen to anything he said about Malfoy, he decided not to say anything. However, if Harry or Ron told each other their thoughts, they would both get together to try to get rid of the Malfoy menace.

Ron decided that they should continue just getting across the island, maybe at the end they would find the jagged rocks Malfoy landed on. As they penetrated deeper into the forest it became even darker. Harry had passed through a large plant and in a few minutes realized the scrape he obtained from it was poisonous. They had to drop everything they had immediately and both Ginny and Hermione examined his arm. They didn't know what it was and decided that maybe they should rest at that spot while Hermione would research the plant in her book and Ginny would find some healing ingredients on the island. It was then that Malfoy recognized the plant and actually told them what to do. The stunned expressions he received were counteracted by a smirk. He was after all more intelligent than those fools, except for maybe the damn mudblood. Hermione was stunned for a moment that Malfoy knew something she didn't. Then he murmured something about that plant being discussed in potions class. Potions was after all his favorite class, and Snape was probably the best professor that the school had.

After Ginny knew what to do, she easily got rid of the poison injected into Harry's blood. As they continued once again, Ginny noted how the Golden Trio had skipped ahead, leaving herself behind with Draco. They were talking to her initially, but after she had solved Harry's dilemma, the talk gradually ceased. And as they moved on, so did the Trio. Again, she was only counted in when she was needed and this made her a little angry. She believed at the moment, silence was the best answer until a great opportunity would come to prove that she too was part of their group of friends.

She looked behind her and rolled her eyes. Malfoy was just lagging behind to irritate them. That was the reason the others seemed to ignore him. Ginny saw that he was in deep thought at the time, so she waited for him to realize he was going in the wrong direction. When he did, he gazed at Ginny and sneered. She thought maybe, just maybe, since he helped Harry with the poisonous plant he was loosening up a bit and would actually attempt to get along with them. Now she didn't understand at all why he had helped Harry, he acted very strangely. He was a Slytherin, always sly and cunning, there was something going on and she couldn't trust him. This was probably already around the hundredth reason of why she could not trust Malfoy. He obviously abhorred Harry, and his brain most likely had a whole section labeled 'Harry Should Die Along With the Weasel and Mudblood' in it. Maybe he was just helping them because he did not want to stay in the middle of the jungle. He did after all run as fast as he could from shore to shore.

When Malfoy finally caught up to her, she turned around and noticed that the Trio had all stopped. They walked slowly and when she approached them she saw the reason for pausing. They were stunned at what they saw; it was the first magical thing they had seen on the island. It proved to them that there was magic on the island. Right in front of them was some sort of thin waterfall, but the thing was, the water seemed to be coming out of thin air. It started high above the canopies and disappeared where the ground started. The wall seemed to be endless both on the right and left side, so everybody stared at it perplexed.

"We already know there are poisonous substances all around this island, so how could we know if this is some sort of lethal object?" Hermione asked more to herself than anybody else.

"Why don't you use your book?" Harry asked.

"Ginny, give it to me," she said turning to Ginny.

Ginny took it out of her bag and then asked Malfoy, "Do you remember crossing this?"

"No," he said simply. He was awed by the way water just appeared from the top of trees and fell to the bottom without making a pool. It just appeared and disappeared. The water was just so thin that they probably wouldn't feel it if they went through.

Ron in the meanwhile was looking for some objects on the ground. He was picking up leaves, sticks, and some strange looking rocks. He found a bug and asked Harry to get that for him. When he was satisfied with what he had, he took each object and threw it across the thin wall of water. Nothing happened to any of the objects. Harry urged the bug to move forward and nothing happened to that either.

"Just look ahead, you can see the shore – but you can't hear the water," Harry said.

"You're right. If we find a way to cross this waterfall we could simply look for the rocks ahead. It looks like this is just too long of a wall to pass it by. Who knows what is at the end of the wall?" Ron replied.

"There isn't anything in the book about this. I've never seen something this large and magical, yet so simple by just using water. I don't know what it is," Hermione said.

"Then that just leaves one choice – someone will have to be the brave enough to cross it," Malfoy said. When they all gave him looks that suggested he do it, he said, "Right, you realize I am not the gold Griffin here, right?"

"Fine, I'll go first," Harry said knowing this was just a lot like his other experiences he had been through. He closed his eyes and tensed up for a bit. If he were to die on this island in front of his best friends that would just be terrible. But if he died in front of his current worst enemy, who was doing nothing but watching him with an evil smirk, then he probably would wait for Malfoy in his afterlife and beat him to death with a stick. When he stepped forward, he opened his eyes to see if he was dead.

"It didn't do anything to me at all," he said looking at his hands with astonishment. Nothing happened, he was perfectly fine. For a moment he feared that the waterfall had taken away his magical abilities. Harry took out his wand and did a simple spell. When he was done, he looked up at both Ron and Hermione and grinned.

Ron was the next one to go and then from that Hermione followed, "I don't understand then, what could this be for other than some sort bulwark to keep certain people or creatures out… It must be some sort of creature, I wonder what? Do you suspect there is something on this island?"

Everyone was quiet, for they were worried about this creature. If there was a wall to keep it out, then they weren't safe. And since they hadn't met this creature yet, could it mean that it was on the other side of the wall? They all wore weary expressions and Ginny was too preoccupied to want to cross the wall.

"Come on Ginny, it doesn't do anything," Harry insisted.

Ginny was a little weary about this wall and she did the same thing Harry did. What if the wall was made to keep evil people out? She had been possessed by the worst wizard in history; what if he left some sort of mark on her? Then again, Harry had passed through it and he was a Parselmouth. She tensed up, closed her eyes, and then stepped through. She held her breath and when nothing happened, she let out a sigh of relief. Ginny turned around to look back at the waterfall and then her gaze went to Malfoy, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Well that's everybody but Malfoy. Since I don't want to wait for him, I guess I'll just continue on. Come on!" Ron said in a fake cheery voice.

"Yeah come on, 'Mione," Harry said and soon followed Ron out of the forest and to the shore.

Hermione looked at Ginny who said, "I think I'll be the only one with manners today. Go on." She really hated herself at the moment. There was no way she would willingly want to do this, however she did. Only so that Malfoy could be nicer to them. The chances of that happening were so slim that it was more probable for that creature on this island grab her and apparate to Mars than for a Malfoy to be nice to a Weasley. Or a Potter. Or a Granger. Ugh.

"Manners for that ferret-git? I think not. Well fine," she said with a huff and went off with the others.

"Come on, Malfoy. What's wrong? Scared of the wall?"

She looked into his eyes and saw that he wore an empty sort of calculated expression. He wasn't sure about going through this. He had a different past from the others, and maybe he was the thing it was blocking out. But then again, he crossed the island to get to them, and Ginny who even had a Dark Lord possess her didn't even flinch.

He strode confidently until he passed through the wall. There, he suddenly was attacked by an intense amount of pain on the top of his left arm. He grabbed his arm and bit his lip. The waterfall that was smooth before suddenly became thicker and rough. Before the waterfall had stayed in a straight line from right to left but now it was as if someone shook the whole thing and it was ravaging any small object that it touched.

Ginny thought he was having some sort of fit, and at first thought it was just part of his peculiar personality. However, the way he was clutching his arm like that made her a little worried. When she noticed what happened to the waterfall she knew that there was something wrong.

He collapsed onto the floor and writhed on the soil. His arm was trying to stop the pain in the other arm but his body thrashed around in agony. Draco had bit his lip in order to not scream in pain, and soon his lip was bleeding terribly. The amount of thrashing he did made him scratch his arm. Soon his white shirt was covered with a crimson color from all the scratches.

Ginny didn't know what to do. Her healer skills told her automatically not to panic, but at the moment, she disobeyed the rule. She started grabbing her hair and frantically yell out Malfoy's last name.

Finally Malfoy couldn't take it anymore and let out a scream of agonizing pain. His body arched up and he let out another scream. Ginny unbuttoned his shirt and finally recited as many pain killing charms she knew. She tore the shirt open and saw on his arm an ebony skull with an equally colored snake slithering around it. She gasped, and quickly covered it up when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had ran to see what was happening.


	13. Malum Absum

**A/N:** Ok I never took one class of Latin and I used an online dictionary so whatever. If it's wrong then it is wrong. Next chapter is a certain character, you could probably guess, speaking about their past. And so you know this is a D/G story, I just think that if those characters suddenly jumped upon each other it would lose it's sense of reality. Yeah it's fiction but all good fiction still needs verisimilitude.

_Thirteen: Malum Absum_

Ginny had covered his shirt up so that Ron, Hermione and Harry wouldn't see what was on the arm of Draco Malfoy. She couldn't believe he was a Death Eater, but if they had found out, they would probably leave him out to die. It would be a cruel thing, but they hated Malfoy and this would give them a good and possibly _legal_ way to get rid of him. Ginny had seen much cruelty throughout the war and did not want her friends to be part of it. At the same time, she wished for Malfoy to stop screaming.

"I think you should go away. He probably doesn't want you around while I try to figure out what is happening," Ginny said in her most serious tone.

Malfoy was still thrashing about giving scream after scream. His voice was getting tired of it but his mind couldn't help it. The pain was just too much. It seemed as if the pain had originated from his Mark and continued to spread out throughout his body at an impossible speed. As the seconds went by, the amount of agony Malfoy went through augmented. He couldn't control himself and could barely see anything but white. All his thoughts were scrambled and his body urged in some way to cease the pain. However, all that resulted in were deep scratches throughout his chest and arm.

When no one did anything, she finally said even louder, "Go away! Harry, Ron he hates you! Hermione find some plants to create a _really_ good sleeping draught. I think I might have some of the items needed in my medi-case, so try to unshrink that. I wasn't able to. Make sure you make the draught as powerful as possible because with this amount of pain, he could wake up."

When she finished, Hermione scrambled to get Ginny's bag and left. Harry winced every time Malfoy let out a really loud scream, but understood the situation and forced Ron to leave them and help Hermione. Although Ron felt bad for Malfoy, he couldn't help his sadistic side when it came to his adversary. The thought of his pain for all those years Malfoy tormented his family and his friends brought just a tiny twinge of happiness. However, he decided to look as worried as Harry and copied his expressions. Even though he hated Malfoy with all his heart, he wouldn't want the git to die from agonizing pain. At least not in front of him and his sister. That would leave a bitter mark between them and the Malfoy family, except for the fact that there would not be one member left.

After everybody left, she turned back to Malfoy and looked at the Dark Mark. She had performed the spell before, which was to reveal it, and it didn't. Malfoy had used the Dark Arts to cover the Mark, and this meant he was hiding something. Something that he hid so well that he escaped the Trials after the war. She almost trusted him. Ugh, why couldn't she ever follow her brother's idea that Malfoy-is-a-Death-Eater-and-should-die senses? He was actually right. Ginny didn't think of this though, the screams that Malfoy was letting out had made her concentrate on finding a way to stop the pain. She was after all human, not Voldemort, who expressed no feelings whatsoever.

"Malfoy, it's going to be ok, we are going to find you a way to get through this. It's obviously caused by your Dar…your past. At this moment everybody is trying to find a way for this to stop. It will be ok!" Ginny said to him in a loud but calm tone.

He seemed to not realize that Ginny was sitting right next to him, for all he could see was pain. His eyes were blind from the pain and he couldn't take it anymore. Why couldn't they just kill him? Wouldn't that just be a simple solution? They didn't even want him around, "**Bloody Weasley**!" He let out with another scream.

Ginny then tried every healing spell that she was taught in school and in the hospital. When they all failed, she had a feeling that the only way to cure this problem was with Dark Magic. She knew a forbidden spell that would most likely work, but she had never used it, nor did she want to. It was complicated and it required something from her Healer's Manual, which luckily was in her bag. She didn't know if the only way to stop this pain was by the Dark Arts. While in the middle of deciding this and trying to stop Draco from injuring himself more, Hermione came running back.

"You've finished the draught that quickly?" Ginny asked amazed, but instead of waiting for a reply she took it and asked for her bag.

"I think I want to add some lionfish to it." When Hermione looked at her perplexed she added, "It's supposed to be another way to heal while you sleep."

From her standard potion kit, she added the lionfish and then forced it down the throat of Malfoy. He stopped thrashing around – looked at her with a disgusted face – and then went into unconsciousness.

"Do you know what's going on, Ginny?" Hermione asked. She had an idea, but her theories weren't as great as Ginny's, for Ginny was the healer and she was the Auror. In fact, Ginny did make a great temporary Auror during the war. Her knowledge of healing spells and hexes was just amazing. Then again, Ginny's best classes in school were Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions.

When Ginny just stared at her blankly, Hermione suggested, "Well it looks as if the wall blocked Malfoy from intruding. Do you think that means he's a…"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, wouldn't it have at least done something to me?" she questioned, turning her lie to make it seem truthful. "After all, I was possessed by the Dark Lord and that seems worse than being a Death Eater."

"That's true," Hermione said in a grim tone. "What can you do? When he wakes, he'll probably still be in pain."

"There is this spell I know, but the problem is that it involves the Dark Arts," Ginny said. When Hermione gave her a shocked expression she said, "It's in my healer's manual – things they used when in desperate measures – like the war."

"Well, since we're all Aurors here, I don't see a problem with you using it…unless it has side effects. Is it in this bag?"

Hermione sorted through the bag and found _The Intermediate Guide to Great Spells and Potions for Healers, _in it's shrunken form. Ginny unshrunk it, and thankfully the spell worked. She turned to the page and pointed out the spell to Hermione. Hermione scanned the page quickly and then recited the summary to Ginny.

"Well it looks as if this spell is just used to take evil out, so why would it be involved with the Dark Arts?" Hermione questioned and read further, "Oh…Here it says that the side effects include the dissolving of body parts, blindness, and/or an eternal connection between the caster and the person the spell was used upon."

"What are the chances of getting the side effects? And what do they mean by eternal connection?" Ginny said horrified. It didn't matter if Draco lost a body part, but if more than one, he would most likely kill Ginny in some way that she didn't want to even think about. A blind Malfoy sounded good to her, but that would also result in the same consequences. But eternal connection? She knew that no one else would volunteer to do this spell. Who would want to be eternally connected to their worst enemy?

"I don't know, maybe you'll be bonded physically, mentally, or some other way. Do you really want to risk be bound to that filthy ferret?" Hermione asked.

"If we don't do it and he ends up waking in the same amount of pain, what can we do…? If his body continues going through this agonizing pain, he will die!" Ginny said, her healer duties now kicking in.

"Do you really want to do it then, Ginny?" Hermione asked, which confirmed Ginny's belief that she would be the only one who would volunteer to do it. "The thing is, since you are both on the opposite sides of everything, there may be a chance this spell won't give side effects. Usually these sorts of side effects occur to those who have some sort of connection, even if it's a little amount. The only one you two have is that you're both purebloods, and I don't think that makes a difference." She paused but then added, "But then again, this is Dark Magic that has been created by pureblood wizards. However, I still doubt that with such a large gap between your beliefs, appearances, and standards, etc. it won't matter."

"Well then, I'll try it. Give me the book. I need to practice the incantation and wand movements. I hope on this stupid island it will actually work. Can I do it by myself? I feel weird enough already."

After Hermione left and promised not to tell the other two, she practiced a few times with a stick nearby. After memorizing the incantation and the wand movements, she moved on to her wand. Every time she did it with her wand, the wand would grow a black color for a few moments and shoot out a deep blood red color. From that, Ginny hoped she would never have to use the Dark Arts again. Were these the kinds of spell that Malfoy would use? Was that why his wand was a very dark color or did he just purchase a very expensive one? These thoughts raced through her head every time her wand shot out the spell, but she was going to heal him. He didn't hurt them yet, so why would he hurt them now? If he really was a terrible Death Eater, then they would take him to a fair trial. It was the right side that would counter the dark deeds of the Death Eaters with justice.

When she was done practicing, she looked at Draco's unconscious form. He seemed to be frozen in a cold expression, but his eyes were closed and he looked somewhat peaceful. She now realized that there were side effects for him, too. What if his arms dissolved? What if he went blind? What would he think if there was an eternal connection between them both? He'd probably Avada Kadavra himself right there on the island.

She was scared, but knowing that this was the thing healers had to deal with, she took a deep breath. Every time she had to do a difficult spell, she felt bad for her patient and was a little scared, and this time was no different. She hoped that there would not be an eternal bond with him. Although, she probably didn't feel as sympathetic as she did towards Malfoy as she did towards her other patients.

What if for the rest of her life after this spell she would live a life of illusion? What if her mind was bonded with Malfoy's and she saw through his eyes for the rest of her life? Ginny assured herself that Hermione did know that she was using this spell, and with her intelligence, she would notice what was going on. Almost every Dark Magic spell did come with a counter curse didn't it? If they had to use a counter curse then would that mean that Malfoy would go through this again? Maybe when they get home, they would use the counter curse, only if necessary. Then the best healers at St. Mungo's would be able to solve the problem. However, then she would have to admit her usage of Dark Arts, and even with three Aurors on the island, it was still illegal and the punishment was severe. She thought about what had happened to Malfoy as he went through the waterfall and knew that she would have to use this spell.

Another deep breath later she pointed her wand to him and said loudly, "_Malum Absum!"_

The deep red shot at Malfoy, who immediately opened his eyes and stared at Ginny.


	14. The Story of A Death Eater

_Fourteen: The Story of a Death Eater_

"Weasel?" he breathed. He felt dreadful. It felt twenty times worse than any hangover he had been through. When he saw her, he immediately remembered what was going on and clunked his head back down to the ground. That was something he shouldn't have done for that just helped his headache progress.

"How do you feel, Malfoy? Do you remember anything?" Ginny asked, hoping to Merlin that there were no side effects.

He was obviously not blind and didn't lose any body parts. Malfoy gazed at the wall of water and then touched the arm where his Mark was. The waterfall was now back to it's original calm state, and the pain that he felt from before had subsided. Whatever he was feeling now was nothing compared to what he was feeling before. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped clutching his arm and pretended as if Ginny didn't see anything.

"Malfoy, I saw the Dark Mark on your arm. You're a Death Eater. I haven't told anyone, and right now, I don't think I should. I lied to Hermione, my best friend, and if it comes up again, I doubt I will be able to lie again."

Draco stared at her for a few moments; first barely listening to her for his mind was concentrated on the headache that _really_ did ache. However, as he took what she said in, his eyes widened both in fear and shock. Someone, who shouldn't have known, had found out one of his darkest secrets. He quickly tried to think of something, anything that would be able to cover up this mistake. At the same time, he was glad that the pain had subsided and they didn't kill him. They probably would just kill him later on; his thoughts then went to attempt to remember how many Aurors were needed for a Death Eater to be legally killed without a trial, since it was after the war. If it were less than four he clearly was going to die.

"How do you feel Malfoy?" she repeated.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said quietly rubbing his arm conspicuously. If she already knew then it didn't matter now. Right now, he was trying to think of ways to escape death by his most hated enemies, and at the same time, he was attempting to get up.

"Let me help you up," Ginny said. She lifted him up so he was propped against a tree. He looked as if he did not want to be interrupted at the moment and did not seem to care that she helped him. During the war, she had been in this position many times and knew exactly what the Death Eater in front of her was thinking. "Malfoy, you are not going to die," she waited for him to step out of his trance. Draco looked up at her shocked (damn he was letting his guard down).

"You already know I was a healer during the war. I have met many Death Eaters before by accident during the war. They were in need of healing, and it was the healer's duty to check their arms for Marks. If a mark was found, then they would be sent to the Auror's camp and that is where they would decide their fate. We aren't in a war right now, and although you only need three Aurors present to kill a Death Eater legally, they will not kill you."

He didn't believe her, and now he was certain that he was going to die. Potter, Weasel and the Mud-blood would not take an instance's thought when it came to killing him legally. He had a business to maintain! And he was the last Malfoy; if he died, his property would be split up among the Blacks. Draco knew that this would mean Harry would take Sirius's portion of his property. That thought would make his whole family roll over in their graves. His family would probably not even let him enter the after-life, forcing him to roam around as a ghost. The idea of being a ghost was despicable, especially to his family. It was more of a family thing than a pureblood tradition. Those weren't the current thoughts in his mind, for right now all he wanted was his life.

"Fine, I won't tell them right now. I will eventually have to tell them. I promise you that they will not kill you. However, I will only keep that promise if you tell me why you used such a complicated spell to hide your Mark?"

He wanted to ignore everything she said and go back to the pain he had just experienced. Actually, he would never want to go back to that pain, it was too intense. It felt as if five people had used the _Crucio _curse on him and it all started from his arm. He looked back at her and internally groaned. She would have to find something out, maybe just a little, but enough. Damn her for finding that mark. However, he knew that if any of the other three idiots found his mark they would have immediately killed him. Why was she giving him a chance? Was it more of a "courageous" thing to do? Is this why the blood traitors were sorted into that house? Why did he keep thinking about House Rules – he graduated a long time ago. He hated this damn island. Draco took some dirt and angrily threw it in the air. Before she could say anything about his anger, he decided to talk.

"You already know that from Hogwarts, I had always wanted to become a Death Eater," he started, whispering so quietly that Ginny had to strain to hear him. She moved closer, but not too close, to be able to hear whatever he wished to tell her. "I always imagined the day that I would become a great Death Eater, just to make my father proud. My father never appreciated my talents as much as I wished him to, so to prove that I was a great son of his, I wanted more than anything to prove my loyalty to the Dark Lord.

"I would practice everyday, from the commencement of my fifth year - hexes and small forms of Dark Magic - that I was sure Dumbledore wouldn't care to look at. I had such a strong desire to do the best that by the end of my sixth year, I had mastered some incredible hexes." Ginny thought for a moment whether or not he remembered the bat-bogey-hex incident in her fourth year. She was starting to dislike Malfoy even more than before. He wasn't forced to become a Death Eater; he chose to become an immoral combatant of Voldemort. "However, my defense wasn't as great. I was never able to create a quick enough shield charm to block off even the smallest of hexes. It was right before my sixth year that my father knocked on my bedroom door. I thought he was still in prison, but knowing that knock, I knew that he somehow managed to escape.

"He took me out of my room and to our Apparation room. We apparated out to what I think was some sort of graveyard. I guess that was the meeting place for the Death Eaters. I always thought it was stupid of them to meet in the one area that most Aurors would assume we would meet at." He paused for a while to catch his breath. Draco was very weak and vulnerable at the moment so he had to make sure he didn't tell her any information that he didn't want her to know. At the moment, he couldn't think of what that would be. "The Dark Lord took me to the center of the meeting and announced that I would be the youngest one in Hogwarts to join the Death Eaters for the second war. I was terrified by his appearance, by the way all the others looked at me, and the expressions my father kept giving me. I was not ready and everybody, including my father, knew it. I didn't want to disappoint him again, so I tried my best to look brave.

"I don't remember the rest of the ceremony for the only thing I can remember is the pain I felt when I was given the Mark. Everything around me was just terrible and dark. No one out there would care if I screamed; in fact, I think I remember hearing laughter. It was one of the most terrible nights I had ever experienced, but it did not end right there.

"Every night of that week I would be assigned to follow one of the Death Eaters to see what the meaning of the word 'loyalty' meant. Each and every night I would watch some muggle get attacked with numerous amounts of hexes. I would watch some mud-bloods get raped, I would watch blood-traitors be torn into pieces, and the last thing I would see would be the horrifying Dark Mark in the sky to show that we were the ones to be feared.

"I knew that I would never be able to do such things, and I was told I wouldn't have to until my schooling was over. I never understood why they made me a Death Eater so early until later on. They had suspected that there was a traitor among one of us in Hogwarts, the potions master – Snape. I was always asked questions about the different professors, especially Snape, but I never really noticed that the questions were really about Snape himself. They had deceived me and had used me as just another pawn." From the way he spoke, he detested the idea of being just a pawn. As a Malfoy, he believed he was supposed to be the one next to the king - Voldemort. " I knew that Dumbledore was starting to suspect me, and I knew that if he found out, I would be killed off. I figured this out towards the end of my seventh year – though I did leave early that year. I knew that if I did not listen to the Death Eaters, they would kill my family.

"I was terrified, and I didn't want to do the things that the others had done. I knew that I wouldn't be able to and my father would once again be disappointed of me. Then one day an Auror killed my father. It made me furious that some _ordinary_ Auror would be able to kill _my_ father, who was considered one of the _greatest_ Death Eaters. At the same time, I felt relieved. I knew that this was my chance to escape and not be part of it. With my father's death, I was able to take over the Malfoy business. Although, all of his accounts were suspended because he was a known Death Eater, mine were not. Dumbledore had faith in me and had persuaded the Ministry to allow me to take the business.

"Every night the Dark Mark would shine greatly on my arm, and I was called to the meetings. I went a few times, and other times I told the Dark Lord that I was being suspected. He claimed that I was not being loyal, but I was able to persuade him that Dumbledore had faith in me, and I would be able to help destroy the Headmaster. I did go with a few Death Eaters to some house raids, but I could never do anything more than good hexes. I would use those and then wait for another to kill the victim. As the war progressed, I watched many people die and I did nothing about it. I almost forgot about my father's death and saw this more of my own chance. I never really felt he was gone, I was always afraid that one day he would be alive and would find me. As the war went on, I was able to watch people die, and finally I felt that I too was ready to commit the terrible sin."

Ginny watched Draco with a horrified expression. When he finally paused, he looked up at her with a vacant expression. She couldn't believe that she was sitting next to such a vile, loathsome person. She had kept him from losing his life twice in the past two days. Ginny felt like getting up and hexing him to death, but she remained where she was and waited for him to continue.


	15. The Story of Draco Malfoy

**A/N:** Ha I was watching Chamber of Secrets, and saw the scene where Tom Riddle spells his name out. This whole time I thought Voldemort was spelled Volde_r_mort. I think I spelled it wrong throughout the whole story. I hoped my BETA picked that up.

Anyway, Mandy is actually a character in the books, I didn't make her up. I kind of hate it when people suddenly introduce a character in their story and he/she becomes a main character that has all sorts of powers and stuff. But Mandy isn't really important to the story. Ooops maybe I shouldn't have said that.

Haha the ENDING of this chapter will seem really stupid to you, but I put that up for a reason :) It's more of a cliffie then you can imagine. Oh and thanks Meadow B. for the nice review :)

_Fifteen: The Story of Draco Malfoy_

He didn't want to tell her all this, but it was as if the words were just forcing itself out of his mouth. Although he knew what he was telling her was angering her, it felt good to finally be able to say it out loud. After so many years it was terrible how he had to keep such a large secret with him everywhere. Even the best of businessmen had to eventually confess their largest sins. However, they usually confessed to someone who was on their side, not someone who would be able to destroy them with the information.

"The next evening I was assigned to a witch's house. It was as if the Dark Lord knew that I was ready to do the worst of all unforgivables, for this time I was alone. I crept into the house around two or three in the morning and went into a room where I could hear some faint breathing," Ginny had caught her breath for his story was scaring her. He had killed somebody, a witch, and this was turning out to be one of the most horrifying stories she had ever heard, "I walked inside and saw a girl sitting on a rocking chair. I knew this was my moment to shine, my moment to show the Dark Lord I was someone that he needed."

Ginny couldn't believe it. How could killing a defenseless witch be something honorable? She assumed that maybe killing one of the greatest Aurors would be honorable. However, then again Voldemort knew nothing of love, and killing an innocent, unarmed girl would prove to Voldemort that a wizard was truly on his side. It would show that love and concern didn't matter. That idea itself made her want to gag.

"I was just three steps away from her and I took out my wand. She was sleeping on the chair, her head was bowed down, and I could hear a very faint snore. I pointed my wand at her and it was then that I realized who the girl was. She was somebody in Hogwarts. I paused for a moment, careful not to make any noise, trying to think whom this girl was. She looked very familiar. I noticed her freckles and brown sleek hair. She was one of the girls who used to follow me around pretending they weren't. Mandy Brocklehurst, a Ravenclaw in my year."

Ginny remembered that name. There was a large article on the front page of the _Daily Prophet. _The thing about her was that…, "I knew her! She was in my Arithmancy and Charms class in seventh year. I knew she once tried to ask me out to the Yule ball in fourth year, but of course I didn't find her attractive. Pansy wasn't very attractive either though…As these thoughts raced through my mind I knew there would be no way that I willingly could kill her. However, I had to do it. If I didn't the Dark Lord would never trust me. I closed my eyes and raised my wand again. It took me a few moments but the thought of the Dark Lord being pleased with me stayed deep in my mind. These thoughts were words of encouragement and they just kept being repeated over and over again until I was able to shout with all my strength _Avada Kedavra._

'I felt the power of the spell go through my wand and it hit the body. The amount of magic that went through my wand had thoroughly drained me, and I knew now why Voldemort was so powerful. He could kill many at a single time without even looking tired, and I was exhausted from the magic. I almost felt like collapsing right there. However, the scream that I had heard was not that of a female. I opened my eyes and saw a man standing in the corner of the room dead. It was Crabbe Senior. An invisibility cloak covered half of his body; I still don't understand how he was able to obtain one. I had missed when I closed my eyes and instead of killing Mandy I had killed a Death Eater. My heart both bounced and dropped at the same time. I didn't have the will to look at the dead body of an old Hogwarts student. At the same time if I didn't kill her then I would be in trouble.

'My father suddenly stepped through the shadows with a very angry expression. The man had deceived me again! My father was very much alive. He was furious that I had missed and was afraid. I cowered under his authority over me and feared facing the Dark Lord. I apparated to the first place I could think of, which was the Hogs Head. I really don't know why I thought of one of the filthiest places in the wizarding world, but once I landed there I apparated again. To any place that came to my mind. I ended up at the wizarding border of England. I decided to stay there. I still had a business to maintain and every so often I would appear at my office to take a large stack of files. I did my work but when I apparated I always resided in a different direction. I had failed the Dark Lord and if I ever went up to him again I would only face my death," He finally paused and it was then that Ginny asked him a question.

"But in my fifth year you told Dumbledore that you didn't want to become a Death Eater! Why?"

"Yes I remember that. He called me to his office once and kept asking me strange questions. After the first ten I realized he was trying to figure out where my loyalties lied. I turned my answers around to make it look as if I did not want to be a Death Eater. I really had no desire to become one. All I wanted to do was make my father proud. I knew at that point I was on the losing side. If I had ever got the chance I would had switched sides. At the time he had called me I was already a Death Eater. I had seen what horrifying crimes they committed. I was terrified for I knew one mistake would lead me to my death. I think Dumbledore might have known I was a Death Eater, for he trusted me but never enough. He knew that I didn't want to be one nor could I use a killing curse on an innocent being."

He then continued on with his story, "I decided to wait for Potter to win, for every hero eventually wins against the villain. That is just a rule of history. Although I hated to admit it, I wanted Scarhead to defeat Voldemort. This idea augmented in my mind when I learned that the Dark Lord had both my parents killed. My father was finally dead, for why would the Dark Lord fake his death? The Ministry guessed that this was just another trick, but they found my mother's body a week later. A month later my father's body was discovered. This left Malfoy Manor to me. I wasn't even able to finish school at Hogwarts, but then again probably most seventh years haven't finished. We all obtained our certificates in the end.

'My Mark claimed me a Death Eater but my wand said Auror. I had betrayed both sides of the war. I wanted to survive, as I was the last surviving Malfoy. I couldn't let my pureblood status died. That is why I used the spell to get rid of the _laceration_ on my arm. It had destroyed my father, killed my mother and it was ruining me. I hated mud-bloods but why go through all that trouble to end up dead and have even less purebloods in the world? I could just avoid the mud-bloods anyway, it wasn't as if we were going to combine the wizarding world and muggle world. This philosophy of mine prevented me from continuing my actions on the Dark Side or turn to the Aurors. I would not support either cause. I had the business to maintain, and I was hardly alone for after all being repeatedly named the World's favorite bachelor makes sure that a man is never alone."

Ginny really had to force herself from rolling her eyes. She was relieved. He hadn't done anything bad. He hadn't even killed an innocent or an Auror, he had done something that would actually bring merit to his name! Although it seemed as if in this position he could be lying she decided to believe him for now. When they would get off this island she would make sure they would use a pensieve for his trial. She would use hers too. Both Ginny and Draco had remained quiet for a long moment. Ginny was thinking whether or not to tell Harry, Ron, or Hermione while Draco was upset he had told her everything. He could always use an _obliviate_ spell.

Hermione later came in to see what was happening. Ginny couldn't have spent such a long time with the spell. She came to tell Ginny that she needed to speak with her in private. It was something very important that she needed to discuss.

"Ginny there is something I have to tell you that has been bothering me for a very long time," she started. Ginny looked up at her with a concerned expression, "I….well….erm…the thing is…I…well the thing is that I…"

"Just say it Hermione there isn't anyone listening and I won't tell anybody. Trust me, after all we are great friends."

Hermione finally decided to say it all as quickly as possible, "_I am madly in love with Draco Malfoy. _I have been since we were in Hogwarts. You were right about liking the sort-of evil ones. Since we have been on this island I just can't _imagine_ my luck. I've been pretending to hate him because of everybody else. No one would be happy if I confessed such a dirty secret. I really really love him. I keep watching him every instance I can. And when you tore off his shirt… I can't help myself Ginny… I love him."

Ginny couldn't tell whether going back in time to watch Malfoy confess he was a Death Eater who acted like an Auror or just listening to Hermione was crazier.

"What?" Ginny said astounded. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"It's true!" Hermione said sniffling.

Ginny popped her eyes open, she was almost in tears by all that emotion! It looked as if she had never told anyone in her life! It was a good thing too because everybody would attempt to do something.

"Well…erm…for how long?" Ginny asked.

"Since the end of sixth year. He is just beautiful!" Hermione had a dreamy quality to her voice, "Now that I have the chance I really really want to tell him. I think that in such a position he might say something," She was watching Ginny intently as if wanting to know her exact reaction.

"Well…then go ahead…uh it's your choice I can't stop you. But I warn you he is a Malfoy and he acts as if he hates you. You might not get the reaction you desire," Ginny said.

"I have to do it Ginny I really do. I need to see what happens. I sometimes feel so desperate that I…" she paused looking sheepishly at Ginny.

"That you what?"

"Don't tell anyone but I sometimes wish to make a love potion for him. Then he would love me back for certain."

"I can't believe this Hermione!" she said but then decided to change the subject, "Speaking of Malfoy…uh Draco… I think we should set up camp and move him to his bedroom."

"Oh I already told the boys of course. I think that I should tell Draco now." Hermione said walking back to where Malfoy was laying down.

However, when they found him he was sleeping so they decided to use a levitating charm to move him. The charm only worked for Ginny so she had to do it by herself. She was drained by the Dark Magic she had used but was happy that everything seemed to be fine. They moved him to his room and then waited for him to wake up.


	16. Hermione's Turn

**A/N** Sorry for the long wait I just was waiting for my BETA. I think she's on a last minute vacation so she hasn't been editing as usual. So i decided to update.

_Sixteen: Hermione's Turn_

Ron and Harry had decided to take this time to try to learn how to fish. Ginny did complain that eating fruit wasn't very filling for their stomach, and Ron's stomach agreed. Harry tried to transfigure a broken tree limb into a fishing pole. When he stayed at the Dursley's one of the only channels they would allow him to watch would be the fishing channel, if they ever permitted him to do so. Little did they know that one day that channel would come to use for Harry. However, transfiguring something that wasn't taught in McGonagall's class turned out to be something very difficult. He would have asked Hermione for help but she seemed very anxious at the moment. One thing he learned about girls in school was to never bother a girl when they are worried about something.

Hermione and Ginny decided to take this time to rest. They had a very long day. Ginny curled up in her bed and fell asleep while Hermione was pacing around the whole tent. She was very nervous and tense. Right before Ginny fell asleep she felt bad for Hermione. She could just imagine Malfoy calling her a filthy mudblood then throwing her out of his room. Though she imagined that Malfoy had probably used some sort of blocking spell to make sure that no one that was not of his blood could enter.

After over an hour's nap, Ginny finally woke up and yawned. Hermione was sitting right next to her as if waiting for her to wake up. She gave Ginny a worried expression. All Ginny could think of doing was getting up to hug her friend.

After that Hermione finally said something, "He's awake, but still in bed."

"Just go into his room, I really don't think it would matter."

"Please can you just come with me?"

Ginny thought about it for a moment. Why would Hermione ask her to come with her? Wouldn't that just make her more nervous? Then again Hermione was always weird when it came to relationships, "Sure."

They both walked out of their tent. The first thing they saw was Ron chasing Harry around the sand. Harry was manically waving a large fish over his head while Ron chased him with an infuriated stare. Apparently, Ron had actually caught that fish but Harry decided to claim he was the one who caught it. Ron wishing to impress Hermione and his sister wanted the fish back. As the girls went inside the boys' tent they both shook their heads.

Draco Malfoy was currently lying face up on his bed with both his hands underneath his head to support it. One leg was dangling off of the bed while the other was up on it. He felt good relaxing in this room. Although this wasn't something he was used to, as whenever he stayed at a hotel the room was at least one hundred times more luxurious, he felt a smirk come upon his face. Knowing that his room was much better than Scarhead's or anyone else's comforted him. The thought that Ginny would not tell anybody about his secret also relieved him. He had to believe her for she was after all a Weasley, who believed in 'integrity, justice, and morality'. The one thing he knew that the Weasley girl would ask him before they got off the island was to confess to the Ministry or at least her three other bloody friends. All he had to do know was to avoid her from asking that question and he was all set.

He heard some movement in the tent, which meant that someone was coming to see him. It couldn't be Potter or Weasel for they were currently acting like deranged imbeciles. When he had awoken from his sleep he had gotten up to see what the other four had been doing. He hoped that they hadn't just left him, for he couldn't find his wand. What he saw was a sight that shocked him. Apparently, Weasel and Scarhead were amidst a love affair. They were currently doing their queer mating dance. Scarhead was holding a fish on top of his head while Weasel was prancing after them. Malfoy was interested in it at first, wishing he had a camera to show the world the truth. He always thought that Potter would be interested in the _female_ Weasley, but he was wrong. The _Daily Prophet_ would have a field day if they heard about this. However, once he started receiving mental pictures he decided to lay down again. He did NOT want to see any relationship that Potter had in his mind.

Draco waited for the girls to arrive in his room. He did hear two pairs of footsteps meaning that either Ginny told Hermione, his heart dropped when he thought this, or Ginny was going to ask him to tell Hermione. He would never tell the mudblood anything. In fact he would rather receive mental pictures of Weasel and Potter. Now that he was thinking of both he almost felt like banging his head on the wall.

Hermione entered his room, and Malfoy ignored her presence. The Weasel girl wasn't entering so she must have told her already.

"Malfoy…erm…Draco I have something to say."

He refused to look at her and pretended to be interested in the comforter that covered him. The comforter was beautifully embroidered, when he was transfiguring an old blanket he had imagined the comforter he had back at the Manor. Of course this wasn't an exact replica for it took professional wizards three years to create a magically and beautiful warm comforter that was suitable to his needs. Now in this predicament he decided not to be too fussy.

"Draco!" She paused. Why the hell was the girl using his name? Something must be really wrong then. She told the queer men. "Draco look at me."

He decided to face his doom and looked just beyond her shoulder. Hermione decided this was the best that she could do.

"Draco…" He waited for her to finish. What was it…lifetime in Azkaban? Torture by his worst enemies? Being forced to watch Weasley and Potter all day? He thought how hard it would be for a wizard to Avada-Kedavra himself, "I…alright I will just say it… I-think-I-have-feelings-for-you."

He got up from his resting position and raised an eyebrow at her. What!…wait…_What?_

Since he didn't seem to say anything Hermione continued, "I know you have feelings for Ginny. For why would you spend such a long time with your hated enemy? I know how you look at her. When you pretended to lag behind you always watched her. I think Ginny feels the same way because why would she lag behind too? I don't know what to do but if you refuse me then I'm taking Ginny with me and we both will find a way off the island together. Without you guys. I just need to know what you think about Ginny, because I couldn't stand it if the man I'm madly in love with loves another," she covered her mouth when she said the last thing.

"_Granger…what the hell are you on?_ Did you accidentally drink too much firewhisky? More importantly, where did you get the firewhisky? I personally don't like firewhisky but if there is some alcohol…" He said. Malfoy was just relieved. So Ginny hadn't told Hermione. However, now the more important problem dawned on him. The mud-blood was crazy too. How were they going to get off the island now? And they all thought he would go mad first. Where was Pansy when he needed her? The Weasel girl was probably the next to go insane. If this disease were contagious then maybe he would be better off alone. It figures that when he was on an island with the four alleged heroes he would be the only sane one. Where was everybody when he deemed the four of them insane?

"I need to know what your thoughts are Malfoy," She said seriously.

"First of all I detest you. I don't want any mud-blood in _my_ room. I'd like you to move your bloody carcass out of my room. This place was clean before. Second you are just infatuated by my angel looks and lavish life, and 'love' is for idiot females who believe in such a thing. Third, I would rather give up my Manor then even look at you or the Weasel girl."

Hermione turned around to look at Ginny who gave her a sad look. The look was only for her friend's defeat. She would have to bring out the tissues and spend the night in Hermione's room to comfort her. The poor girl.

"Oh _Thank Merlin_!" Hermione said breathing a sigh of relief. When Malfoy gave her a look that suggested she was insane and Ginny gave around the same reaction Hermione thought it would be best if she explained what she was doing.

"I don't know if Ginny explained this to you _Malfoy_, but the spell she used to heal you was Dark Magic." Malfoy didn't know this, and knowing Dark Magic it would have consequences, "One of the side effects were an eternal bond between the caster and the person the spell was casted upon. I was just making sure you two didn't have this bond."

"Wow Hermione! I don't know what to say. I'm just amazed."

"Yeah well I should go tell Harry about that fish that was caught." Hermione said quickly. Now she felt uncomfortable in front of the two of them. She did just trick them. She stepped out of the tent and shouted at Harry, who was still being chased by Ron, "You know that fish isn't edible! It's poisonous to eat."

The fish that was previously raised above Harry's head was now thrown back at Ron, "Oh yeah I know… Ron caught it." Ron through a glare at Harry then told Hermione desperately, "I did not catch it. It just landed on the shore." The two boys started arguing and Hermione decided that she would have to be the referee today.

Meanwhile, Ginny was about to leave the tent to see what the boys were up to when she heard her name being called faintly, but not gently.

"Did you really use Dark Magic on me?" Malfoy asked a little surprised the Weasel would go that far.

"Yeah, I didn't seem to think of any other choice." Ginny replied believing that Malfoy was impressed by her use of magic. She didn't like that.

"Why that could destroy your career, why did you do it?" He really was curious.

"I don't know about you Malfoy, but when a person is in severe danger you don't just leave them to die. No matter how deep the hatred goes, of course unless you were Voldemort. Maybe that is another thing that divides us into Slytherin and Gryffindor. And Death Eaters from Aurors."

She was right for once. None of his friends would have done this for him. Even if he was remarkably attractive. Dark Magic was to be used only for victims, rarely was it used for healing. He would be the type of wizard that would be left behind, even in a situation where it wasn't dangerous to take the time to heal another. This was just another thing that surprised him about the moral and values of the people on the other side. However, his other thought was that it was smarter for a person to leave the other. Otherwise it would be likely that two would be in a nasty predicament. Then again she was in no danger.

"Well Malfoy you should get ready. We have to find your friend," she stated and then left the tent.

"Right…my friend," He said quietly lying back down on his bed.

Within an hour's time the five of them were all ready to get going again. They ate fruit again for dinner. It was pretty late outside but they wished to progress as far as possible before resting for the night. Ginny and Hermione walked together this time. Hermione hoped that what she did didn't ruin the friendship between them, but Ginny didn't seem to be bothered by what she did. Ron and Harry walked ahead and Draco once again was left in the back just a few feet behind the two girls. He was watching Ginny intently wondering why she would risk losing her job to save him. He still detested her, but now he was starting to understand the girl.

"You know I was thinking about the Dark Magic spell you used and some other problems came into my mind," Hermione said while walking past what looked like twenty-foot tall budding flowers, "After all you can't trust Dark Magic."

Ginny nodded with agreement, "Yes I was thinking that too. How could I use Dark Magic and have nothing go wrong? It was the first time I have used such Magic since my second year in school…and I was possessed when I used that!"

"My thoughts exactly," Hermione said with an affirmative sound. Ginny looked down at her feet thinking she needed to get new shoes. She was paying attention to Hermione, but when talking with her you needed to learn to do two things simultaneously so why not practice? "The thing is…is that how could the two of you be alllllllllll…"

Hermione had let out a scream and Ginny looked up to see where her friend was. She was being dragged into the darkness of the forest by something she was about to recognize when something lifted her up high in the air. The ground was far below and her heart starting racing heavily.


	17. Queer Men Ruin Everything

**A/N: **Ha I like the name of this chapter. And no Harry and Ron are not in a relationship I thought it would be a little funny for Draco to assume so for a while. I was originally going to name this chapter something like "Flesh-Eating Plants" but then I didn't like calling the plants that name. I don't know. Oh well.

Oh and I answered Padfootmoony's question back in chapter 8.

More D/G goodness :D

_Seventeen: Queer Men Ruin Everything _

Ginny didn't know what was going on, but she was being twirled around high above the ground. Whatever it was that was doing this to her was twirling her with immense velocity and she couldn't see anything. She let out a desperate scream calling for help. Hermione was gone…what if she was dead already? Her heart felt as if it was going so fast it would fail. What if she was going to die too?

Hermione was just telling Ginny her theory about the Dark Magic she was using when suddenly a vine grabbed her ankle and dragged her across the sand into the forest. She tried to dig her fingers into the ground to stop the vine, but it failed and then she noticed her own voice screaming. Her wand had been tucked loosely on her clothes, and now it was feet away from her. The plant that had grabbed her would not give her a chance to grab it and she felt doomed. She was lifted into the air and there she saw Ginny being twirled around violently. Screams of help and desperation were emitted from both of them. Hermione didn't know what it was that grabbed her but hoped that either Harry or Ron could help them back to the ground.

Harry and Ron were walking ahead of the girls and when they heard a familiar scream they turned around swiftly with their wands ready. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, and the girls weren't visible but they were loud enough. They ran to where they heard the noise and saw very large moving plants. One of the vines was coming towards Ron but he had used an _Incendio _to drive it away. The spell had worked and no other vines came towards the boys until they approached even closer.

Harry had pointed to the canopy of the plant. Hermione was being dangled right above it. However, as soon as he used that spell more vines that were larger came through the forest to attack him.

"_Flagrate_" Harry used. Immediately from his wand came a fiery line. He kept the spell on for as long as he could to create a temporary wall of flame for protection. His wand drew the 'wall' and he hoped that he could still use spells that would go through it. Ron had seen what Harry had done and copied him. Hermione did teach them many useful spells when they least expected it. It was a good thing for now.

Hermione could see that the boys were trying their best to fight off the attacking vines. She hoped that they would think of paralyzing the plants. Flames would work on the plant but in the end it would only make the plant more aggressive. She was about to shout out this tip when she decided to look down at what was holding her. The 'large budding flower' that they had passed by was actually a very large Venus Fly-Trap. Except since it was too large of a plant to eat just flies it ate larger things. Like humans. The plant had opened it's mouth wide to reveal a sharp looking set of teeth and a green looking tongue. Hermione let out another scream.

Ron looked up to see why Hermione let out an even larger scream then before.

"HARRY it's not just a plant like the Whomping Willow. It's a carnivorous plant. It's trying to eat Mione!" He pointed his wand to the head of the plant and threw an _Incendio_ at it.

The spell missed the plant but the head did close it's mouth. It turned around to look at Ron, which seemed impossible, as it didn't have any eyes. Hermione was relieved that it didn't devour her, instead it turned it's attention towards Ron. Her heart dropped, now it was going to attack Ron.

The offending plant threw another one of it's vines at Ron, but this time it circled around his wall of flame and grabbed him around the waist. Hermione looked at Ron upside down and for some strange reason she gave him a weak smile. Ron returned it, but amazingly he still had his wand. If he used the incendio spell again he would end up with burn marks. The only way to do get out of the plant's grasp was by enflaming the vines that had wrapped him around. The plant again opened it's mouth to devour Hermione when Ron quickly stated the spell.

A large scream of pain was emitted by the plant and Ron was dropped to the ground. While falling he heard what sounded like _paralyze _from HermioneAlthough this hurt immensely he got up as quickly as he could. He ran towards Harry and hid behind his wall. Ron didn't know whether Hermione meant that he might be paralyzed or something else.

"Paralyze it!" Ron said quickly to Harry.

"How could we stun it with just the two of us?" Even though Harry was a powerful wizard they couldn't possibly just stun the plant with the two of them. At that exact moment Malfoy had come running towards them with many scrapes and cuts around his body. He had a look of hatred on when coming towards Harry. But the man did have a wall of fire surrounding him so it was the best solution.

"Malfoy how good are you with the stunning spell?"

"Why do you ask?" He said watching Hermione dangling from the plant that had for the third time opened it's mouth.

"You bastard! Mione's about to be eaten alive and all you can say is **_why_**. Leave us alone or I'll curse you instead," Harry said very angrily.

Malfoy walked back towards the plants and both Ron and Harry shot their stunning spells at the plant. When another vine from the same plant starting coming towards him Malfoy shot the same spell straight up where the peduncle meets the bud. The vine that was about to attack him had slumped onto the ground. It wasn't completely immobile but it had slowed down it's movements and was paralyzed in some areas.

When Malfoy had heard Hermione emit her first scream he watched as Ginny was taken by her ankle towards the top. Unlike the plant that had grabbed Hermione, Ginny's predator had decided to twirl his victim around before devouring it. As he watched both Harry and Ron come to the rescue, he had started to step away from the plants. However, one of the vines from Ginny's plant had wrapped itself around his arm. Happy that it wasn't his wand arm he struggled to pick up Ginny's. Hers had fallen while she was being thrashed violently around. Malfoy wasn't able to find his wand when they left, he was suspicious that Ginny had taken it after learning he was a Death Eater. That was why, he believed, he was watching her hoping that she would give some sort of sign that she did have his _very _expensive wand.

With an Incendio spell he was able to loosen away from the vine. It was then he learned that there weren't only just two plants, but four of them standing right next to each other. Vines from almost every direction came to attack him. He shot as many hexes as he could to them. Malfoy realized that he was in the center of all the plants and nobody would be able to see him. As he took his time to fight off his plant he fought his way to the shore. Harry had used a spell to create a wall of fire. Damn Potter always knowing the best spells. He ran to his safety, even though he hated the man who conjured it, he hoped that they would allow him to stay. However, it was then he made his first mistake. He saw both Ginny and Hermione being raised up to be eaten. Ginny was harder to see then the Mud-blood. The plant that had taken her was up front while the plant that had taken the Weasley girl was behind it to the left. Harry asked angrily if Malfoy knew a stunning spell. Of course he would know a stunning spell. If alone with a dragon he could probably stun that (well maybe not but he was still proud of his mastery of the spell). His skills were awesome. Since Potter was too arrogant to realize who was the better stunner he replied smartly, which angered Potter. Malfoy decided to leave, and that is where he was currently.

How could the queer men forget Ginny. The girl was one of the men's sisters, but instead they go for their friend. Since he was stupid enough to go towards the plant that was holding Ginny he decided to save her. Actually, he wasn't saving her he was saving himself. That plant was more aggressive than the other one that was holding the mud-blood. Of course the better plant would go for the better blood. The mud-blood's predator didn't even stand a chance with his stunning spell. He saw the end of the largest vine coming from the plant. And this was when he decided to save himself. At the point of the vine was a large, very unfriendly-looking, yellow thorn. Since everything else on this island was poisonous he gave himself a little time to ponder what kind of venom that thorn was carrying.

As it came to him he used a very powerful _diffindo_ spell. It sliced the vine and the plant started squealing in pain. It started to thrash Ginny around again, who was still screaming. How could those idiots forget her? She screamed as loud as a banshee! He yelled an incendio charm at the base of the plant and then right above, where it was becoming weaker, he used another powerful _diffindo_ spell. Then the sound of something imminently crashing came to him and he backed away. The girl was still being held by the plant!

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he yelled. However, the spell didn't work. He forgot how certain spells didn't work on this island. Draco was surprised that all the spells had worked fine so far, when he was using someone else's wand. It probably was a pureblood thing. He ran as Ginny fell from the plants grasp heading straight down for the ground. With his old seeker reflexes he caught her, which hurt his injured arm very much, and without even thinking he started running. Although, the plant was clearly not a threat to him anymore he just started running. For a few seconds he looked back and saw both Potter and Weasel trying the diffindo spell, but the spell wouldn't work for him. Apparantly, the Incendio spell worked only for Ron's wand. And the slashing spell wouldn't work for either of them. When he turned his head back around he smirked, of course he would be the one on the island with the best magical abilities.

For a moment he almost forgot he was holding a girl in his hand. He also noticed he was running away for nothing. He stopped running and lowered the girl down so she could lean against the tree.

The first thing Ginny did was throw her arms around Draco. Then she started to sob. Her heart was beating at an abnormal high rate, and she was feeling very dizzy. However, Malfoy had done something she hadn't expected him to do and the only thing in her mind now was that she needed support from someone. She hugged him very tightly.

So this was what it felt like to be a hero. Draco thought, almost suffocating by the strength of Ginny. No wonder Potter did such irrational and stupid things. The feeling of exhilaration, not knowing what was going to happen next, just using any spell that came to your mind, and then this. He felt uncomfortable being hugged by a Weasley, but he also felt something that he never felt before. For the first time in his life he had saved someone. It was a very incredible feeling, and instead of being repulsed by Ginny's touch, he just stayed their immobile. He allowed her to cry in his chest and in fact after a few minutes he put his arms around her to hold her closer. The poor girl was frightened to death.

Ten minutes later he finally spoke, "You know I only have to do this one more time and we're even."

He hadn't meant it as a joke but Ginny started to snicker in his chest. She loosened her grip a little and looked up at him and smiled. She was still shivering but she was happy. He had almost smiled back when the two queer men came to ruin everything. Damn Bastards. He felt as if he never hated them more. Ginny let go of the embrace and faced Ron and Harry. She wiped away her tears and looked at them concerned.

"Ginny are you ok?" without even waiting for a reply Ron said, "Hermione…We think there is something wrong with her!"


	18. Can Idiots Survive Without Women?

**A/N: **Yes another chapter :) I have to say thank you to my wonderful BETA who has edited the first eleven chapters so far.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed too. I really liked your reviews. I hope I have answered some of your questions in this one.

Sadly, now for the bad news. This story has finally caught up with the number of chapters i have pre-written. That means right now I'm in the middle of writing chapter nineteen. Now don't think I have no clue of what I'm going to write. I have a whole plot and many notes written down, it's just that now it may or may not take a little longer for updats. For one thing my school starts on Monday. I'm not saying that that will slow down my writing, because it usually doesn't I'm just giving it as a warning.

Oh and plans for C19-which I should put in the end but eh don't feel like making to A/N. There might be a physical fight. Oh and I haven't forgotten about our favorite Parkinson :)

_Eighteen: Can Idiots Survive Without Women?_

Ginny looked up at her brother in alarm. She wasn't even thinking about Hermione, her best friend who was the first to get caught in the plant. Well she didn't even know what she was thinking before. Trying to get up from the tree she was leaning on was hard. When she was squeezing Malfoy she had used him as support. However, after she left his arms she fell back onto the tree for support. It was hard trying to get up. She bent down as best as she could and then groaned in pain.

"My leg…it's broken," the pain suddenly started to spill through. She winced when she tried to move it. She was shocked by the fact that she hadn't realized this before.

Malfoy was also not the one to think either during the situation. He didn't really think about if she was injured. In fact he didn't recall worrying about himself either! All he remembered from just a few minutes before was trying to run in any direction as fast as possible. Another part of risking your life for other people: you never really thought about it. It was as if a large stone of knowledge just hit him in the face and showed him the truth about Potter's life. Though that was a terrible metaphor, Draco felt as if he could finally just start to comprehend the life of an Auror. He always assumed that they would be the same as Death Eaters, except just not wanting to kill muggles. They were just out there to stop Death Eaters. Although he was beginning to comprehend Potter's life he still did not want to be part of it. It was part of his Slytherin and Malfoy blood that made sure he would not become to attached to this sort of life. After all he did grow up in a house for eighteen years of his life where Potter was considered an idiot and muggles were believed to be scum. That would be something really hard to erase in a man's life.

Harry came up and examined her leg. Neither Ron nor Harry demonstrated any gratitude for Malfoy. The man did save their sister's life, (as Harry now thought of her as one) but they acted as if they didn't notice she was in grave danger. The good thing was that Ron seemed to also have not noticed what kind of predicament his sister was in minutes before. How he could not notice Ginny in the arms of Malfoy was in itself astounding, but it must have had something to do with his best friend.

Ginny was angry with both Harry and Ron for not even trying to save her. She was not even important to them. She _hmphed!_ when Harry came close to her and folded her arms across her chest. Harry of course being the ignoramus he always was failed to notice that or the fact that Ginny was pretending to stare off into the darkened sky. The stars were now starting to shine and the island just looked enchanting. She inadvertently sighed, and Harry looked up at her with a quizzical look.

"Give me my wand. It's just a fracture, these sort of things are easy to mend," still refusing to look at Harry or her brother she gave her hand out, while the other arm was still folded against her chest.

Malfoy wasn't really paying attention. His focus was at Harry. The lout believed he could fix a leg. He couldn't even heal his own scar! The glare on his face seemed to be enduring. After a few moments he realized there were two glares that were mirroring his own.

"Malfoy give her the wand. We have to get back to Mione!" Ron growled.

"It's a good thing that you left the mud-blood alone for now that plant can get rid of her," He replied laughing.

Ron looked fiercely at him and then turned to run back to his friend. Since his sister was safe she would be fine with Harry. The girl had to help Hermione next. He didn't notice that Ginny was angry with him and not Malfoy. The thing that surprised him when he was about to leave was that he saw Malfoy quietly giving the wand to Ginny, without any snide remark or difficulty.

"_Os Infigo"_ Ginny stated pointed her wand to her leg. When the spell failed Harry took his wand out and tried to repeat the spell.

"You're doing the wand movements incorrectly," She said in a dull tone. The tone was only to prove to Harry that she was angry with him but he didn't seem to notice. He just looked curious. Damn him.

"It's a strong flick, not a light one. And you have to keep it there for just a few seconds."

Harry did what she told him to do, but the spell just shot flowers out of his wand. He took the flowers out and then gave them to Ginny and grinned. She threw the flowers away and groaned tilting her head back on the tree.

"Potter probably couldn't even heal a feather! He still has that damn scar on his head after all," Malfoy said snickering at his inability to perform a correct spell. Although they were on an island that made their wands malfunction he probably could do the spell. And he did. What was that? Three spells that were useful, that didn't work for Potter's wand. This was turning out to be a better day then he expected. Now if only that flesh eating plant had eaten the mud-blood he wouldn't trade the day for a night in heaven. Now his glare turned into a small grin that was again received with another death-glare. Did these people know any other expression? Mentally he counted the number of expressions he could give to them without being a glare, but they seemed to know only that one. No one seemed to have been paying attention to him for both Harry and Ginny were gazing at her leg.

Ginny got up from the tree and tested her walking abilities. After a few easy steps she was able to walk fine. She would run to Hermione, but her leg was still tender so she walked as fast as she could. When she arrived at the scene Ron was hovering all over Hermione, who was laying down on the sand unconscious.

"We thought we stunned her by accident so we used _Ennervate._ That didn't bring her back into consciousness."

"How did you save her?" She said putting emphasis on the last word.

"Well we stunned the plant but before it was completely paralyzed it flung her out to this spot. We used a _Wingaurdium_ spell, but she was unconscious anyway."

Ginny examined Hermione, none of her bones seemed to broken. The girl was lying haphazardly on the ground, her leg askew in what looked like an impossible position. Ginny positioned the leg into a more fitting position; the leg was bruised a little but surprisingly was otherwise intact.

"You didn't stun her she is just unconscious. I'll just use a spell to awaken her," Ginny said more to herself then to the boys. When she tried the spell she groaned in frustration for once again her magic failed her.

"Show me the spell and I'll do it," Ron said.

As the spell was shot at Hermione the girl fidgeted a little and slowly opened her eyes looking straight up at Ginny. She then tenderly touched the back of her head and gradually brought herself up to a sitting position. Everyone except Malfoy, who was busy examining the rest of the island in his current standing position, watched Hermione with intense anticipation. Hermione then raised one of her pant legs up slowly to examine her injured leg, the one that had previously been lying askew. After being satisfied with that she examined the rest of the island, and then looked up at Ginny expectantly.

"So," Ginny paused, "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, my head aches a little but that is all," Hermione replied in a more curious than factual tone. Her eyes were wide and calculating.

"Oh ok, well we'll just expand the tents here and rest for the night," Harry said getting up and motioning to Ron. He took this time to prepare himself for an argument with Malfoy. Of course Malfoy would refuse to set up the tents, but Harry of course would then annihilate the man's room.

"Alright do you feel like resting?" Ginny asked in a kind tone.

"Sure, but I have two questions. Where am I? And who are all of you?"

Ginny clenched her eyes shut for a second and opened them back up in an expression of utmost stress. The girl was suffering from memory loss. Without Hermione there was a slim chance of survival with the three dunderheads. It could be temporal amnesia. She went to find her trunk near the tent, which was still shrunken. Ginny asked Ron to bring it back to its size and then looked through the contents. She found her healer's guide and went back to Hermione.

Sorting through the pages she found a guide to memory loss. It required a simple antidote, but she did not have the main ingredient. The plant that was needed only grew in desert areas, and looking at the tropical climate of the island there was no chance that she would find it here. It looked as if she would have to use the muggle method, they would have to wait for it to wear off. After doing some simple tests she diagnosed that Hermione was suffering from Retrograde Amnesia.

"Hermione you have amnesia. Since you don't remember us at all, do you remember magic?"

"Well of course, I have a wand!" She said pointing to her magical device, "And I went to school, I just don't remember school."

"What kind of spells can you do?"

Hermione paused and started to think intensely. She looked as if she were a small child trying to figure out a question they knew the answer to but had forgotten it for the moment, "I don't know."

"Ok well my name is Ginny, and that person right there who is working on the tent is Ron my brother. The person there who is doing magic is Harry, and the man who is standing near the water by himself is Draco but we all call him Malfoy."

"Why?"

"Well we don't really get along with him. All of us went to school together and he was in the house that no one liked."

"He lived in a house?"

"When I mean house," she paused thinking of a way to deal with this, "In school all students are divided into four sections, and the section is called a house. Malfoy was sorted into the house that we do not like."

"Why do you not like it?"

She sighed. This was a terrible day, she was almost eaten alive by a plant and her best friends didn't even try to save her. In fact her worst animate enemy was the one who had saved her. If Hermione weren't in her usual state they would probably never get off this island. She called for Harry and Ron to come over and explained the situation to them. They were very concerned for Hermione, as usual which made Ginny even angrier, and then she left them with a huff. The boys started to explain the whole system of magic in England and then how they had gotten on this island. Ginny took this time to get changed and go off to bed. Of course she cared for Hermione, but her anger had gotten the best of her. The two boys would be able to take care of the girl. After all they always did. Before she drifted off to sleep the question came to her mind, "Can idiots survive without women?"


	19. You Can Never Tolerate A Malfoy

**A/N: **I've realized that I really need to bring the plot back into this story. I've just been focusing so much on trying to get the characters to interact with Draco that I have almost forgotten my plot. But no worry! This chapter shall start turning towards the plot. And I did the evil cliffie at the end because I do actually want the boys to interact. They haven't really done much. Also, I've noticed there are too many plants in this story so far I need creatures...I already have one created but I think I should add more.

Thanks for the reviews I love 'em!

Oh and I have already started the next chapter, have been writing more detailed notes too. :)

_Nineteen: You Can Never Tolerate A Malfoy_

The next morning Ginny got up to get dressed and also to clean up. She took a short shower and went into Hermione's room. The girl was still sleeping; she was curled into a little ball. She looked like a child, but Ginny hoped it would not be that way. Ginny gently shook Hermione to wake up.

"Hermione how're you doing?"

"I'm fine. I still don't remember anything important. Harry and Ron explained a lot to me yesterday, maybe too much," She stated with a yawn.

"Well why don't you get dressed for we have to find Pansy. Did they tell you about Pansy?"

"The witch? The one who Malfoy adores but is very ugly?" She asked. Clearly Ron and Harry were trying to push nasty thoughts against Malfoy in her mind. She had spoken the name with disgust and had called Pansy a witch, in a not-so-nice way. It wasn't that Ginny minded this for she too abhorred Pansy and didn't think much of Malfoy.

Then again it was Malfoy who had taken her when she was falling from the tree. It was Malfoy who had allowed her to embrace him for a very long time. She even snickered in his chest. She turned red with mortification. Hermione gave her a curious expression.

"Well we have to find Pansy, even if we do not like her much. I suggest that you stay with Harry and Ron. This island is dangerous, if they haven't told you so far so it would be a good idea to stay with people who know how to defend themselves."

As soon as she had finished that statement both Ron and Harry came into the tent and walked into Hermione's room. "We heard voices so we thought we could check up on 'Mione," Harry said.

"Well she still has amnesia, but I suggest we continue. We are on the other side of the island and Parkinson should be here somewhere," Ginny replied but still in a guarded tone. She was still silently angry with the two of them. After that she left the tent to grab some breakfast from the fruit basket. In the fruit basket she noticed something tucked up in one of Ron's shirts that he had brought. She opened it and found a slimy, but edible fish. It made her smile with the thought of who will cook it and how.

Soon after breakfast was over she decided to go into Ron's room. Ginny sorted through Ron's trunk and found an almost ebony wand in it. She had hid the wand from Malfoy when she learned he was a Death Eater but now decided it would be best for everyone if he had it back.

Malfoy as usual was just lazing around in his tent when she found him. She threw his wand at him hoping that he would at least get the idea to catch it. Instead, the wand just hit the side of his wall and landed on his bed right next to him. He got up and gave her a small smirk. The moron couldn't even listen to a silent command. He was so difficult.

"We're leaving in fifteen minutes so eat up," She said throwing a piece of fruit at him with her wand.

She was about to leave when he replied in a snake-like tone, "It was my pleasure."

Turning around, Ginny was angry with all of the boys on this island. She cleared her throat and asked, "My pleasure?"

"Saving you of course. You haven't said a word about it." Malfoy said with a raised eyebrow, "I expected that your sort would be gratified. I guess that…"

She interrupted him, "_Malfoy_ you are a Death Eater. And always will be a Death Eater. I know you told me that sob story of your pathetic life, but you still are one. In my eyes a Death Eater cannot be redeemed. The only good Death Eater is a dead one." With that she stomped out of his room and into her own tent.

Of course she hadn't meant any of what she said. The words that had come out of her mouth sounded a lot like those of Percy's. Why was she sounding like her least loved brother? She loved him but never in her life did she imagine sounding like him! Why couldn't she sound like Bill or Charlie, but Percy? Malfoy did save her yesterday, and she usually was able to put up with his snarky comments. And then at the same time he didn't even say anything when she embraced him tightly as if the world was going to end. She had barely escaped death and it was all because of him. The man had saved her and this was what she did in return? Her heart fluttered at her stupidity and then at his unseen bravery. He had saved her when Harry and Ron chose not to. She was going to apologize, but then Harry had come to ask her to leave the tent. They were packing up already. Now that she thought about it, it wouldn't look good to apologize. In Malfoy's eyes only the weak apologized, and looking weak around him was not a good idea. She would wait for a better moment.

Malfoy was dumbfounded by her outburst. He had saved the girl's life, and still he could not be redeemed? Well she did have a profound hatred for Death Eaters, but did she really wish them all to be dead? He always thought that she was a woman of justice. What happened to that system? Then again, their family probably created effigies of him and his family on the anniversary of Voldermort's fall. It was an ancient feud. Now this meant that he was going to die. Now, the idea didn't bother him as much as it did a few days before. Of course he was going to die, he should have realized that you couldn't escape the consequences of the Dark Mark. He was still in his tent when he started to notice that the walls were coming closer towards him and shrinking at the same time. They were collapsing the tent with him still inside. Running out of the tent with his wand he cursed Ron. The boy was almost rolling around laughing for Malfoy had shrunk about six inches. When he was still inside the tent the spell started shrinking him too until he ran out. Harry started laughing too, until Ginny pushed him aside and started yelling at him.

"This is not the time to play foolish pranks," She said eyeing Malfoy with a tiny hint of amusement. The boy was now shorter then her and it was somewhat amusing, "Malfoy take the curse off of my brother and Harry enlarge Malfoy."

As those words came out Harry and Ginny started laughing and Malfoy started shrieking with a boyish voice. (He was actually just yelling but his vocal chords had also shrunk) He covered his mouth and gave an expression only a Death Eater could carry. Harry stopped laughing and decided to bring Malfoy back to his original size. Ron was then unbinded by the curse that was put on him.

Hermione had been sitting on the sand looking at the ocean waves during this incident. They finally called her over and she walked in-between both Harry and Ron. When they finally were ready to move on the five of them starting walking along the coast. Ginny decided to stay next to her brother, although she was mad at him she rather wished to be next to him than Malfoy. Malfoy lagged behind again.

He didn't understand the girl. He had saved her life and allowed her to embrace him, almost suffocating him. Why was she angry now? It was as if he had just learned how it felt like being a hero and then was thrown back into his original world. Why was he only shown a temporary moment of that life? If that was all he was going to get, it was a moment he was going to cherish. His gaze went to Ginny's back. Little did he know that Ginny was consumed with the thoughts of her previous actions. She despised those actions and wished to take it back. He watched her talk somewhat angrily with Ron but still conversed with him. What were he doing that was different then the others? His gaze then went to Ron and his expression of curiosity turned into a frown. Ron had turned his attention from Ginny to Hermione and Harry. They were asking about her well-being.

"The mud-blood is really useless now, shouldn't we just use her as sacrifice? If the plants devour her maybe they would be satisfied and would not try to kill us anymore. That must be why the island is upset with us. There is too much foul blood."

Harry and Ron turned around angrily, "Foul blood? Look at you and your soiled blood. Think you are better with your pureblood? Pale as a ghost with horrid eyes. Your mother looks as if she carries a foul smell around wherever she goes. Is it the Malfoy's? Was she forced to marry into the family by your father? Did he imperio her? Then again rumors say that your mum's a gold digger slut." Ron had obviously had been blind with rage. The Malfoy family was considered a very prominent and handsome family. The boy must have known that insulting the looks of the family would touch a nerve of Draco's.

"Do not speak that way about my mother!" Draco stated approaching dangerously close with his wand pointed straight at Ron's chest.

"Why can't handle the truth…the truth…," Ron was about to state another comment when Ginny pinned his arm in a painful way and Harry stood in front of him as if to be a shield for Ron.

"Malfoy we have had enough of your snide comments, Ron and I have been very tolerant but the threads are starting to snap. You are outnumbered here, and you don't want to mess around. Alone on this island, it would be easy to hide a dead body." Harry stated in a threatening tone. He was giving another death glare at Harry but his full attention was still at Ron. Lowering his wand he decided not to mess, not yet. This was twice in the past ten minutes that Ron had made Malfoy look subordinate to him. It would not happen again, even if he were outnumbered.

"You know there were always rumors that your slut of a mom spent nights at the Zabini's. Why do you think Blaise looks so much like you?" Ron had shouted still angry. He had enough of Malfoy, and knew that right now verbal abuse was his best move of revenge. There was no way anyone could tolerate a Malfoy. Enough was enough.

Draco dropped his wand on the sand and rolled his sleeves up. This was the last straw, "Do not insult my family you foul blooded areshole. She is not a… My mother has beauty that your mum would give up her chubby upper limb for, maybe even would agree to stop breeding. She has the manners only a member of the Black Family could contain. She would never in her life… My mother doesn't look like an overgrown pig that lives in a bloody hovel." His voice increased with each word until he was yelling as loud as his voice could allow. Pushing Harry aside he raised his arm back and punched Ron square in the nose.

Ginny surprised at his actions, which were after all understandable for her brother had insulted his dead mother, let go of Ron's arm and allowed him to stumble backwards and land on his knees. Ron was clutching his now bloody nose and silence fell among all of them. Draco was breathing heavily from his eruption and stood there satisfied with the blow. Harry had fallen to the ground and now lying had seen Draco show off his physical strength. He quickly got up to stop Draco from hurting his friend and took out his wand. By this time Draco had already picked up his wand and turned his attention to Harry where he threw a terrible curse that hit Harry's arm. Blood spluttered around as a deep gash opened in his arm.

Ron had now gotten up watching Draco and threw a curse back at him. Draco was sent flying ten feet backwards and landed with a thump against one of the trees. He painfully got up but both Ron and Harry were glaring at him with extreme anger. Harry threw his arm back and knocked Draco against the tree again. Ginny had run towards the three of them and attempted to stop them. However, with three very skilled wizards who also played quidditch for many years of their lives she decided to stay a few feet to the right. If there were to be another punch her wand would help her.

The two boys and the tree behind him surrounded Draco. If he gave up now he would look like a coward. Although Slytherins were known for their use of cunning to get out of such situations he still did not want to be named a coward. With one swift attack he threw a curse back at Harry (which actually turned into another curse that he had never in his life used before) then attempted to dodge the blow Ron threw at him. He was hit on the side and quickly kicked Ron in the stomach.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Hermione finally said screeching at them from a distance away. She was afraid of these people now, before she thought they were her friends but they way there were acting surely wasn't the way friends acted. Everything was very confusing.

Ginny decided to use a spell to break the two boys from Malfoy. As she was a little to the right of Malfoy she used the spell but as usual it was her wand that decided to malfunction and she was sent backwards, but only by a foot. She landed in a bed of flowers. For a few moments she gazed at the flowers, which faced her and emitted a small puff of brownish air and then she fainted.

"Ginny!" Ron cried and then the two other boys stopped what they were doing to look at her with astonishment.


	20. Three Down, Two To Go

**A/N:** Sorry for taking so long to update but it's finally here.

Oh about Ginny, I wanted her to be this way. One, I didn't want her personality to be perfect, it would be Mary-Sue like then wouldn't it? Two, it adds to the story. Three, she is under a lot of stress. She seems to be the only one who is intelligent, capable, and willing to help all the others right now. So seeing that Hermione, her only other female friend is not up to her usual standards, and Harry & Ron acting like idiots when it comes to Malfoy, and Draco just being himself, she would be stressed and angry at everybody. Plus I just saw her like this. So I hope her characterization hasn't ruined your enjoyment of this story, but I promise you it gets better. And second I promise next chapter is back to PLOT! I have too many Draco-interaction chapters now.

_Twenty: Three Down Two to Go_

Ron didn't care about Malfoy anymore. Well he did still wish to pound him to pulp, but right now whatever happened to his sister was more important. Through the corner of his eye he saw that Ginny had fell, but as soon as the plant emitted the puff of air he knew something went wrong. He quickly motioned Hermione to stay wherever she was. She was on the shore, and apparently the shore was the safest place on the island. Harry too rushed towards Ginny although the veins on his arm were clearly visible and turning a very ebony sort of color.

When Malfoy had heard Ron cry out the name of his sister he turned around to where she was. The girl had fainted, and hopefully was not dying. The plants so far were there enemies, for they had not seen any terrifying creatures yet. Why of all things were plants evil? They always seemed to be so innocent. This was probably Sprout's idea of revenge. It was most likely her island and she wished to become the new Dark Lord. Damn her.

His brain instantly asked Draco to run towards his twice savior and once saved girl. However, his Slytherin heart told him to stay where he was. It was supposed to always be the other way around, was not the brain to tell him to stop and the heart to go? In compromise, he paused a few moments, looked at the daft mud-blood and then decided it would be better to go to Ginny and the idiots then to stay with the brown-haired-moronic-soiled-blood. Attempting to walk his trademark way, he tried a lazy stride, however the stride was awkward and quicker than any other sort of stride. Angry at his damn feet he looked up to see Ginny being carried by Harry while Ron was trying to burn the offending plant.

"You moron. Why are you burning the plant?" Malfoy asked.

Harry who was about to pass by Malfoy stated, "It hurt Ginny didn't it?"

"You better stop the flames, how else will we cure her if we don't know what harmed her. Have you seen that plant in herbology?"

Harry turned around to look at the plant and then quickly ordered Ron to stop the flames. Ron attempted the water spell but it did not work. He looked towards the shore and saw that if he ran to get water, he would first not have a pail and second the plant would have been completely burnt by then.

Malfoy took out his wand and quickly stated, "_Aguamenti_!" However, the spell had botched and instead transfigured some of the sand into glass. Malfoy let out a groan and then looked at Harry.

Harry had Ginny in his arms so he waited for Ron to get up and gave her to him. Although in an intense amount of pain from both the deep gash and his now blackening veins he did not say a word. After all he had been in worse situations before and he always turned out triumphant. He took his wand out and attempted the spell. The spell worked but not to it's full effect. Only a thin spray of water came out. He would have to keep trying it until all the flames subsided.

"You git the plants here are burning. Now the plant's poison is airbourne and she could take in even more poison!" Malfoy said angrily. How stupid were they? How the hell did they even win that bloody war?

Ron started to take her to the shore but then forgot that the tents had already been packed up. Harry was busy with trying to save some of the plant for examination, Hermione wouldn't be able to restore the tent nor would she be able to hold Ginny, only he could restore the tent to it's size for he was the one who built it. Thinking quickly he gave Ginny to Draco and then started to restore the tents.

What was wrong with lying on the sand? Draco thought when he was given Ginny. This was the second time he was holding her in this position, and this time he didn't know how to save her. What did heroes do at a time like this? His mind was trying to reel out anything to help her but nothing came. This time he felt uncomfortable, because before he had just done the first thing that came into his mind. Now he was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that a Malfoy was holding a Weasley in his arms. However, as his Slytherin heart pleaded him to drop the girl his ambiguous mind was clouded with the idea of holding her or leaving her.

It was at the climax of this conflict in his mind that his eyes decided to leave the vision of the tent and go towards the vision of the girl. She was slumped across both of his arm. His right arm was supporting her neck, while her head drooped a little. Now he noticed that the girl had finally decided to clean herself for her hair had more of a lustrous flaming shine. Before it was mangled and hidden in dirt. Although there were some small smudges of dirt on her face, which were obviously caused by the recent accident, it was evident that she had finally decided to clean herself.

It was peculiar that at the time when a person you disliked very much might die, it was then you noticed them the most. How this moment in time reminded him of the time he met Mandy Brocklehurst after many years! He was sent to kill that girl with the dark brown hair and freckles. The dying girl in his arms also had freckles, and sleek shiny hair. It was not the color that Mandy had, but it was something that he knew if she died would remain in his mind forever. It was now that his Slytherin Heart ceased its futile attempts of persuasion and clenched in fear. How he could just see the severe amount of anger in his father's face. How he just apparated in fear of the consequences. Draco had another chance, and this time he did not want to fail.

However, then it came to him the idea that she was the one who knew his dark past. Just an hour before she made sure he knew how much she despised him. Ginevra was the only girl who knew what happened to him. If she died then everything that he told her would die with her. No one would know anything. Her heart was now beating very slowly; he could feel the life being taken away from her. No, he could not let her die. What was coming was coming, and he would do his best to save the girl. He didn't allow Mandy to die and he was surely not going to allow this girl to die.

"Ron why did you let him hold her!" Harry said now approaching the two men with a small sample of that plant carefully put in his hand.

"I had to build the tent! 'Mione can't help! I had no choice. Why don't you take her back?"

Hermione had been hovering around Draco trying to see what was wrong with Ginny. However, when Malfoy finally became aware of what she was doing he shot her a nasty look. After that she left him to talk with Ron quietly. He wasn't really paying attention to her for the first time, but he gave her a few weak smiles.

"Potter don't you realize that you are dying! How can you bear her?" Malfoy drawled maliciously. When Potter gave a slight quizzical look Malfoy explained, "The curse I used on you was a different one. I don't know what hit you, but it looks like a brilliant curse. I'm amazed that it wasn't used during the war. Your veins they are turning black. And from the looks of it, it is becoming increasingly difficult for you to work your left arm. The poison is moving quickly, and within an hour it will reach your heart. Do you really expect to live?"

Ron stopped working on the tent and gave Harry a frightened look. The boy was really dying. Harry's arm looked as if it were paralyzed. It was when all this information sunk in, Harry's face started to turn pale.

"On your other arm that deep gash should be healed because at the same time you could die from poison you could die from blood loss," Malfoy spoke factually.

"And then you will be a known murderer!" Ron said fiercly, "Do you really think that killing Potter would do nothing? Don't you realize that by killing the Harry Potter you will be publicly executed in the most brutal way there is? Harry's death means death for you too!" Ron was contemplating whether or not to use another curse against him, but because his sister was in Malfoy's arms he decided not to do anything.

At these words Malfoy decided to keep his mouth shut. Now there would be two things that would lead to his death and final denouncement of his family's name. Damn it. Potter couldn't die. Damn it. At the same time if both Ginevra and Potter died, he would be stuck with a psychotic Weasley and a daft Granger. Damn it. This couldn't get any worse.

"Right, well then finish up with the tent," Harry spoke slowly and miserably. During the war it didn't matter if he died, his only objective was to hope that Voldemort would die before him. Now that the threat of the Dark Lord was gone, and the fact that he could finally enjoy the magical way of life, death was something that did matter to him. At the same time his friend was also about to die. They wouldn't even be able to say last words. He looked at his arm and then at Ginny, of all times for Hermione or Ginny to become sick it would be now!

When Ron was finally finished with the tent they put Ginny inside on her bed. They decided not to build their own tent until later, for they first needed to figure out a way to cure the two of them. Ron and Harry decided to sit on Hermione's bed and Draco leaned against the doorway. He wouldn't enter her room no matter what. Although Harry and Ron were ignoring most of his suggestions, they allowed him to stay for Draco wasn't as stupid as they wished he were. Anything that would come into their mind they would suggest, for time was running out and they really needed to figure something.

"Why not use the book? The healer's manual… the girl used that book when…"

"The problem is that that book doesn't recognize many foreign plants," Harry said.

"Of course! It has a symptoms index. Ginny showed it to me in case there were any emergency in the house, and you know that always happened with Fred and George around. Here let me take a sample of your blood."

Ron first went into Ginny's room to get the book out of her trunk. Then he opened the book to the last page. On the page there was an outlined square at the top left corner. Using a small piece of paper, he took a sample of blood and carefully put it in the square. The blood sunk into the paper and immediately three words were written next to the square: _Potter, Harry James_.

"I've never seen anything like that!" Harry said surprised.

"It's a new edition. Mum and Gin didn't like it much at first because it reminded them of the Chamber of Secrets. However, this new edition is really good for patients, for it….watch."

The paper now continued to write many different statements about Harry's health. Anything that was tested normal would appear only for a second. Then it would start testing other symptoms. After a few minutes the paper stopped testing and eventually wrote two diagnoses. The first one was the deep gash on Harry's right arm, that could be healed easily. The second one was for his right arm.

_Patient is suffering from infusco curse. Patient has only thirty-three minutes for treatment. _

"Well now we know what curse Malfoy through at you," Ron said with a tone of malice when mentioning Malfoy's name. Why haven't they thrown him out of their group yet?

Ron then sorted through the index looking up the curse. He turned to the page and read the contents out loud. Now they knew why the spell was not used during the war. It was a spell that could be healed within seconds, by a very simple spell. Using the spell, called the 'white spell', the black color in Harry's arm started to fade and within five seconds the poison was gone. Harry was completely healed. When they finally got up they realized that Draco was no longer in the room.

Using the same technique that Ron used on the healer manual, Draco had found a book in Hermione's room. It was some sort of survival guide, and since it was set on 'lost' Draco had taken a sample of the plant and hoped that the same sort of thing would work on this book. Amazingly, it did work and Draco found that the plant was unnamed but very poisonous. He did though find that there was only one way to cure Ginny, and that was by finding another unnamed plant. He didn't care if the plant didn't have a name; as long as there was a picture he would find this plant. Draco was determined to keep Ginny alive.


	21. Death Cannot Escape Us

**A/N:** Yeah I know the title doesn't really make sense but eh. I really wanted to finish this chapter. It is a bit long, but hope you like the ending. Yes I do know my grammar is probably TERRIBLE in this chapter, but I just had to finish it. I didn't want you guys waiting for more than a week. It looks like it's now going to be weekly updates, I know I used to have updates in a few days but this is the best I can do, sorry. :)

_Chapter Twenty-One: Death Cannot Escape Us_

Spending at least fifteen minutes running through the forest looking for a white flower with a mahogany stem, Draco was becoming tired very fast. It was almost impossible to try to avoid any other plants on an island that was never inhabited before. Knowing that the entire island was poisonous, he tried his best to not disturb any other plant. About a mile into the forest he was able to find the plant, and carefully trying not to touch any other plants he crept closer.

There was a large bush behind the plant and as he approached it he heard a small grunt. Positive that he would never make such an offensive grunt he slowly looked up to see what made the offending noise. The creature resembled and was probably related to the almost-extinct Erumpent's. In Care of Magical Creatures, before the daft half-giant took over, they learned about Erumpents. They were large beasts that looked like a rhinoceros. Since it was a magical creature, it's horn contains a fluid that explodes on contact. This creature, looked almost exactly like an Erumpent, but it was a much smaller version. It was not a baby creature, for it's horn was fully grown and looked very dangerous.

For a few moments Draco froze and his stomach lurched. That thing in Care of Magical Creatures got at least four X's. He crouched as low as possible, so as not to disturb the animal, and quietly tugged at the plant. Unfortuantly, this plant had deep roots and since he was not sure whether it was the actual petals, or the roots, or something else he needed, he had to get the whole thing. It was being a very tough plant. He now hated Sprout and her dreary plants. Angry, he put his wand back in his pocket, and using both his hands he pulled at the plant. As the plant let loose he fell backwards. Cautiously, he got up in a low position and glanced at the creature. It was not paying any amount of attention towards him. That was a good thing, because he would never even want some creature to see what was just doing. No Malfoy would purposely get dirt. Using a quick cleaning charm he tried to clean himself up. The charm only worked halfway and he cursed himself, he would have to once again look filthy in front of the idiots. Draco also needed to take a shower. However, at this time he had something else to do.

He walked away from the creature and as soon as he was out of it's sight, he began to sprint. As soon as he reached the shore he paused to catch his breath. Both of his hands on his knees, he was gulping air, for he did not want Potter or Weasel to know that he sprinted through a poisonous forest either. However, as soon as he looked up he received a blow on his face. Falling backwards he sat there in the sand trying to collect his thoughts.

"Where the hell have you been, Ginny is dying!" Ron said angrily, he rolled up his sleeves so that he could make another mark on the interloper's face.

This time, Draco did not get up to fight. Raising his hand forward he rudely stated, "You can't even harm a flobberworm, you really think you can injure me? You already know that I can take both you and Potter. I know she's dying, that's why I found the cure." Without another word, he stood up to brush off the sand on his robes and walked calmly towards the girl's tent. He was seething with anger, for that was unexpected and very un-Gryffindor, but he knew that with his actions he would just anger the Weasley in a much better way.

When he heard that Draco had found the cure, the first thing he wished to do was to find out what it was. For if Malfoy had the cure, who knows if Ginny would live or not? Ron quickly ran up to Malfoy and demanded the cure. Draco shrugged him off and walked in a quicker pace, which Ron soon matched. Angry that Ron was following him Draco took out his wand and cursed him, using the same curse he originally intended on Potter when they first fought, but once again the curse turned into the painful black curse that poisoned the veins. Draco had aimed the curse at Ron's neck, and this slowed Ron down. The pain that Ron was experiencing was excruciating and he quickly tried to find Harry.

Right before Draco entered the tent, he turned around and said, "Never annoy me again." He took the curse off of Ron, who breathed in relief. Ron took out his wand to throw a curse back at Malfoy, but Draco put up the flower as a shield. Ron lowered the wand, knowing that if he had cursed the flower Ginny might die. Instead he ran inside before Draco could step in and he sat next to Ginny.

The girl was lying on her bed, becoming very pale. Harry was stroking her hair, the poor girl was trying her best to breathe but it was very difficult for her. Hermione sat at the center of the bed holding Ginny's hand. The room itself now had a morbid look to it, with the lifeless girl at its center. Draco took out the page he ripped from the book and saw that all they could do was position the flower so that she could inhale its antidote. The book didn't say how long it would take. Draco took the flower and placed it as close as he could to her, he used a sticking charm so that it could stay on her bosom. Ron and Harry didn't seem to notice that he had run through the forest to find this flower, he had almost risked his life again. They were both oblivious to the fact that Draco was starting to obtain a new obsession.

He stepped out of the tent to just walk around, Draco wanted to start moving again. He stretched out for a while and then heard a rustle of the tent, four footsteps meant two people had come out.

"Ron told me that you used that 'death charm' on him. The same one you used against me. You don't have any excuse now." Harry said approaching Draco in a threatening manner.

"We are tired of the way you have been treating us. We allowed YOU to stay with us, it isn't the other way around," Ron continued.

Draco ignored them and started walking around the island interested in the small insects that were walking on a log. He used his wand to pick some of them up and started swirling them around in a circle.

"Malfoy, we dislike it when you try to demean us. You came to us in your hour of need. And this is how you treat us in return."

Turning around Malfoy decided to throw in a snide remark so the two of them would leave him alone. He had just saved their little sister, now what was there to be angry about? However, the boys didn't allow him to reply and instead threw a punch at his stomach. Making a noise he never thought he was able to, he was not able to shield himself from another blow. The second blow was too his head and he fell.

Hermione had heard the noise from inside the tent, and taking her wand from her room she decided to do something about it. Some spells were starting to come back to her. She tried to use one spell directed at Harry, but all that happened was wine started to shoot out in the air. Since she was far away, the liquid didn't even touch Harry. Searching deep in her memory she remembered three curses, that were terrible, but she couldn't remember what they could do.

"AVADA KE-"

"-NO" Ron said turning around toward Hermione. The spell of course didn't work, because you would need the strength and knowledge of what the curse did to be able to perform it. When Ron had turned around Draco had gotten up and took his wand out to throw a curse at Ron's back. Harry at the same time tried an _Expelliarmus_ spell, but it had failed.

"No! _Imperio_!" Hermione said and the spell shot out at Draco. No one would be able to tell, even weeks later, how Hermione was able to perform such a spell but it had worked. Maybe it was the island's fault that made some spells stronger then they were supposed to be, while other spells very weak.

Draco stopped midway and put his wand back in his pocket. He just stood there staring at Ron. Ron turned around and laughed. Harry was a little confused but decided to join in at the laughter when Draco's vacant stare would not change. It was pretty funny.

"How come he isn't fighting it? Don't you think that would be something they learn in Death Eater School?" Ron said amazed.

Hermione was utterly confused; she did not know what she did. She didn't know what kind of curse it was she had used.

"Hermione think 'I love Muggles.' Try to think Draco should say that," Hermione gave him a confused look and then he said, "Well this is a fun curse, though you shouldn't use it often for it is still a curse Hermione. Whatever you think Draco should do he will do."

Hermione who finally understood what the curse meant for a moment thought it was not a good curse, but then she decided that since she didn't know much it might as well be a fun curse. She started to do what Draco said, and Draco even under the influence of the curse could not hide his pure hatred for the mudblood. Hermione forced him to smile, and since it was forced it looked very eerie. Then she asked him to say 'I love Muggles.'

Now Draco was fighting the curse with utmost concentration. He would never say this, but the curse that was thrown at him was very strong, "I lo…. I love….I lo," he kept repeating, trying to fight the curse.

Harry and Ron started to roll with laughter. This was a sight to be seen! Draco with the most daunting grin ever, trying not to confess his love for muggles. His grin turned fierce at the sight of Harry and Ron and with even more concentration than before he started to shout, "I lo, I lov, I LOATHE MUGGLES." The force of this rebellion threw Hermione backwards, but it did not injure her. Harry and Ron collapsed with laughter and Draco walked angrily towards the tent. He decided to take a shower.

After his shower, he went to check up on Ginny. The girl was no longer in her tent, meaning either they were going to collapse the tent or Ginny was cured. He ran outside for both reasons, and soon enough the tent started to collapse. Ginny was levitating above the ground, with a few shields being put up on her.

"Hermione said that we should start going. She said something about Parkinson, but I don't really think she understand what she is talking about," Ron said a little gleefully. Since the last incident with Draco he decided to be a little more amiable towards him, just a little. For being gleeful when Malfoy was embarrassed, was probably one of the more heavenly days in life.

As soon as everybody was ready they all started to walk. Harry and Ron stood between Hermione. Ginny was levitating behind the two. The shield charms they had used were powerful for those who needed to be taken care of. It was only used for emergencies during the war, for it did weaken the caster. Harry and Ron, however, did not show any sign of weakness, for either their spirits were high or they were just lucky with the island magic. At the back was of course Malfoy, who was given the duty to make sure Ginny didn't bump into any trees. Although he was angry at Harry and Ron, he decided since Ginny was not awake he should not bother them. He was lying before, when he said he could take the two of them, and noticing the ugly brusies that were started to develop he did not wish to get into another physical confrontation. At least not for a few days. They continued on for at least ten miles when Malfoy noticed from behind that the rocks up ahead were familiar.

Evening was approaching, but they continued on the examine the area around the rocks. Malfoy found the exact spot where he had landed, there was some dry blood and some pieces of his robe. They looked to see where Pansy had landed, but no one had saw anything. Hermione looked at the blood horrified. She did not know what a portkey was, but whatever that thing was it must have been gruesome.

Harry and Ron tried to use some locater charms, some of them would not work, and others would point towards the ocean. There was no sign that Pansy landed in the ocean, for the waters were at least half a mile away. For an hour Draco searched around the rocks for any sign, and sign at all that would lead to his friend. There was nothing. Nothing in him seemed to be worried either. For some reason, he was more worried about the safety of himself and the girl, then of Pansy's whereabouts. Of course he was worried for Pansy, but only that much which his Slytherin heart would allow him. At the same time his Slytherin self told him that if Pansy were missing, than this island was far more dangerous than it already seemed to be.

He returned to where Ginny was safely laying. Ron and Harry had set her down where they would easily be able to access her if she were in any danger, and the place itself didn't look dangerous. They did not take off the shielding charms though. Throughout the day the girl was gaining her life back, and the paleness that had once taken over her face had turned into a more fresh vibrant color. She was still unconscious, but it looked as if any time soon she would regain consciousness. Draco sat next to her, and in a way that Harry and Ron could not see, he watched her.

Harry and Ron had not given up looking for Pansy. Although they did not like the wretch, it would not be right to not search for the missing girl. Lifting a few rocks they searched for clues, but it was as if she had just disappeared. About forty yards from where Draco had landed Harry found something. A pool of blood and a familiar scarf startled him. The girl was dead.

A few yards away Draco turned to look at Ginny's face. She yawned and finally opened her eyes. The girl was alive.


End file.
